Staff Directory

Arnold is Associate Director of the Institute for Public Policy and Social Research (IPPSR) at Michigan State University as well as Director for Workforce and Economic Development Partnerships for the Office of Public Engagement and Scholarship within University Outreach and Engagement. Prior to joining MSU, Arnold served as CEO of the Prima Civitas Foundation, a community and economic development non-profit organization. He also has worked for the Michigan Municipal League where he served in a number of roles and co-founded the Michigan Sense of Place Council. Arnold began his career with the Michigan House of Representatives where he worked as a legislative aide, policy analyst and policy director. He has served his own community as an elected member of the Waverly Community Schools Board of Education and is currently on his local planning commission. He is also on the boards of local and statewide organizations such as the Michigan Sense of Place Council, Rural Partners of Michigan, Capital Area College Access Network. He is a graduate of Michigan State University’s College of Social Science Multi-Disciplinary Program.

She was an elected trustee, clerk and supervisor of Northville Charter Township before elected a Wayne County Commissioner representing the communities of Livonia, Plymouth and Northville.  She also served on the Michigan Commission of Intergovernmental Relations, the Detroit Water Board, the Southeastern Michigan Transportation Authority’s Board of Directors, the Southeastern Council of Governments’ Executive Committee, Chair of the Rouge River Watershed Council and the first executive Director of the Conference of Western Wayne. She’s been a member of the Board of Directors of Blue Cross/Blue Shield, on the Board of Directors for the Automobile National Heritage Area and on the Board of Directors for Achieve 121. She was an Advisory Board Member of the Great Lakes Education Project. In the 1990s, she was tapped by Gov. John Engler to serve as the chair of the Michigan Republican Party. She left that post in 1996 to run a hotly contested congressional race against long-time Democratic incumbent David Bonior. She lost that race, but gave Bonior one of his closest elections ever. Engler named her state Director of Travel and Tourism and Gov. Rick Snyder appointed her executive director of the Michigan Women’s Commission, a post from which she recently retired. She’s hosted two cable television programs, been a frequent panelist on CBS television and radio programs, managed political campaigns, worked for the Wayne County Airport Authority and as advancement director at The Henry Ford – Greenfield Village. She earned a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from the University of Michigan-Dearborn, and was named “Alumni of the Year.” She’s been listed in “Who’s Who in American Women” and “Who’s Who in Executives and Business,” and is winner of numerous civic and humanitarian awards. Among her awards are the Award of Excellence from the Michigan Aeronautics Commission and the President’s Award from the Michigan Association of Airport Executives.  

During her tenure, Katherine served 11 years as Director of the Office for Survey Research's telephone interviewing facility. Prior to her work at IPPSR, she was a Court Investigator with the State of Michigan for eight years and a Director of Residential Life at Barry University and the University of Detroit Mercy. Katherine's volunteer activities include serving on the Alumni Board of Directors at Siena Heights University and as a Commissioner with the East Lansing Housing Commission. Katherine has a master's in guidance and counseling from Sienna Heights University. She is a Licensed Professional Counselor with the State of Michigan. Katherine is available at 517-353-1357 or at cusickk@msu.edu.

Del also worked as a Lab Supervisor and a Lab Manager; she has supervised up to 150 interviewers. She is a graduate of the IPPSR/OSR Survey Operations Skills Program (SOSP). In 2014, Del joined the Bureau of Sociological Research (BOSR) at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln as an Interviewer Supervisor for the Behavior Risk Factor Surveillance Study (BRFSS). While at BOSR, she focused on English-Spanish translations, interviewer training, and quality assurance. In 2015, Del returned to MSU as a Survey Research Lab Manager. Del assists the OSR Director with the day-to-day operations of the Survey Research lab, conducts General Interviewer Trainings (GIT), CATI Training, project trainings, and Spanish trainings. Del can be reached at 517-353-9583 or solisdel@msu.edu.

Since 1997, her primary assignment has been the data and project manager for the annual Michigan Behavioral Risk Factor Survey (BRFS) and other BRFS-type surveys, such as the Asthma Follow-Up Survey, and the Cancer surveys. She has also been involved in statistical analysis and report writing for clients. Debra is available at (517) 353-1766 and ruszdebr@msu.edu.

At IPPSR she supports all the Institute's communications, internal, external and program-related for the Michigan Political Leadership Program, the annual Forum Series, the Office for Survey Research and the State of the State Survey. Operationally, she helps to craft marketing communications, assists with brand management, strategic planning and visual communications, oversees media relations and implements the Institute's web, internet and social network educational strategies in traditional and digital formats. She takes part in the MSU_Web_Dev_CAFE and MSU’s Training Design Café, and is a member of the MSU Communicators Network. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Ball State University and was a Kiplinger Fellow at The Ohio State University where she earned a Master of Arts degree. She's completed business management coursework through Aquinas College's Master of Management program and computer applications training through Lansing Community College and Michigan State University. Prior to her position at MSU, she worked with the Chicago Tribune, Associated Press, Newsweek on Campus, U.S. News & World Report and the Lansing State Journal, where she was automotive and regional editor. Moving from print to virtual media, Cindy was a specialist at CoreComm Internet Services, Inc. She has also been a journalism instructor at The Ohio State University, Wayne State University and Michigan State University. She is a founding member of the revitalized Michigan Journalism Hall of Fame, and past president of the Mid-Michigan Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists. Cindy can be reached at 517-353-1731 and at kylec@msu.edu.