News
Vice President and Chief Diversity Officer's January Letter
January 11, 2022 - Jabbar R. Bennett, Ph.D.
January is a time for renewal that is customarily filled with new year’s resolutions. So, I extend best wishes for greater self-preservation, wellness, less fatigue and more connection!
2022 MLK Celebration Features Jazz, Community Conversation, Art Festival
January 11, 2022 - Henry Mochida and Greg Teachout
The public is encouraged to attend the collection of events occurring throughout the week.
DEI Graduate Certificate pilot launches successfully
January 11, 2022 - Henry Mochida
Doctoral students Melissa Yzaguirre and Gia Casaburo in the College of Social Science launch the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Graduate Certificate pilot program funded by Creating Inclusive Excellence Grants.
About the name change
January 10, 2022 - Henry Mochida
On January 17, 2022, the office will have a new name: Office for Institutional Diversity and Inclusion or IDI for short.
Welcome Jade Richards
January 10, 2022 - Patricia Stewart
Jade comes to the team from her role in MSU Extension where she served as a mental health program instructor and facilitated many of the Mental Health First Aid workshops.
MLK Community Conversation
January 7, 2022 - Eduardo Olivo and Karen Stowell
To align with safety precautions, the MLK Community Unity Dinner has been canceled and shifted to a virtual program, the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Community Conversation. The webinar will take place January 17, 2022, 3:00-4:30 p.m. ET. Register for the event on Zoom.
UPDATED: MLK Community Unity Dinner shifts to virtual
December 21, 2021 - Eduardo Olivo, Henry Mochida
To align with safety precautions, the MLK Community Unity Dinner has been canceled and shifted to a virtual program, the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Community Conversation. The webinar will take place on January 17, 2022, 3:00-4:30 p.m. ET. Register for the event on Zoom.
Give books, grow hope: stuff the library for MSU’s Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration
December 8, 2021 - Erica Venton, Kelly Mazurkiewicz
The Michigan State University Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Commemorative Celebration Planning Committee is hosting a virtual Stuff the Library event as a component of the 42nd week-long Annual Celebration. This year, the celebration will take place Sunday, Jan. 16 - Friday, Jan. 21, 2022. Leading up to this week-long event, the committee is partnering with Detroit Public Schools to fill libraries with books on topics of social justice and with characters representing diverse backgrounds.
Thanksgiving – a Complex Tradition – Impacts Students in Different Ways
November 24, 2021 - Henry Mochida
For many Native Americans, the Pilgrims’ entry into their homeland was a day of mourning, rather than a moment of giving thanks. This notion of the holiday is at odds with how it has been celebrated (and taught) as a time to express gratitude in the spirit of peacefully sharing culture and food with loved ones.
Vice President and Chief Diversity Officer's November Letter
November 2, 2021 - Jabbar R. Bennett, Ph.D.
Vice President and Chief Diversity Officer Jabbar R. Bennett, Ph.D. recaps the months’ diversity, equity and inclusion news.
DRN Reception at Cowles House
November 1, 2021 - Henry Mochida
Diversity Research Network hosts the 2021 Fall Reception at Cowles House. Photography by Derrick Turner.
Costume Selection Matters
October 25, 2021 - Henry Mochida, Beth Brauer and Bethany Balks
For many visible and invisible identities, Halloween summons more than ghouls and goblins. While most think of Halloween as a time to dress in costume and celebrate all things spooky, it also can become a breeding ground for racist, sexist, culturally insensitive and biased behaviors.
Welcome to Dr. Terrence Frazier as Special Assistant
September 9, 2021 - Henry Mochida
Frazier will focus on the implementation of the DEI Steering Committee report. He will be bringing stakeholders together from across campus (faculty, staff and students) to support the four strategic goals with the twenty-seven recommendations within the report.
Vice President and Chief Diversity Officer's September Letter
September 9, 2021 - Jabbar R. Bennett, Ph.D.
Vice President and Chief Diversity Officer Jabbar R. Bennett, Ph.D. recaps the months’ diversity, equity and inclusion news.
Audrey Bentley: a Profile in Dedication
September 8, 2021 - Annie Dubois
Behind the scenes of every celebration of diversity, equity, and inclusion at MSU, there stands an exceptional leader — her name is Audrey Bentley.
Welcome to DEI Communications Manager
July 7, 2021
In February, the Office for Inclusion and Intercultural Initiatives welcomed Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Communications Manager Henry Mochida to Michigan State University.
DRN Writing and Retreat Photo Essay
July 7, 2021
Diversity Research Network Summer Stay Scholars embarked on a writing retreat.
Short-Term Work Group on Name and Pronoun Usage
July 7, 2021
The work aligns with and will inform the university’s ongoing and longer-term diversity, equity and inclusion strategic framing and planning processes.
Vice President and Chief Diversity Officer’s July Letter
July 7, 2021
Vice President and Chief Diversity Officer Jabbar R. Bennett, Ph.D. recaps the months’ diversity, equity and inclusion news.
Office for Inclusion and Intercultural Initiatives releases Diversity at MSU Report
July 7, 2021 - Henry Mochida
The 2019-20 annual report provides an overview of student and workforce data. It provides information on enrollment, graduation rate, hiring rate and other measures based on demographics and domestic vs. international status for student data.
Addressing Recent Events on Painting the Rock
June 11, 2021
Recent messages on the MSU rock regarding the university’s mandatory diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) online programming have left many in our community feeling targeted and erased.
Diversity Research Network Writing Spaces and Retreats
May 4, 2021
One of the most active areas of support and resources provided by the Diversity Research Network centers around writing retreats and spaces.
The Anti-Racist Path, a 12-week Series Continuing in Fall 2021
May 4, 2021
As we take our first steps, we have to invest in deepening our knowledge and skills. Accepting for fall 2021, limited capacity!
MSU Dialogues Closes with a Celebration and Accepting Applications for Fall
May 4, 2021
Now accepting applications for fall.
Implicit Bias Certification
May 4, 2021
This semester the education team offered the Implicit Bias Certification (I.B.C.) to 200+ faculty, staff, academic specialists, and MSU community members housed in more than 12 programs and departments around campus.
Vice President and Chief Diversity Officer’s May Letter
May 4, 2021
Vice President and Chief Diversity Officer Jabbar R. Bennett, Ph.D. recognizes the leadership in the APIDA community, DEI efforts in the wake of George Floyd's death, DEI strategic plans and news from the Office for Inclusion and Intercultural Initiatives.
Diversifying the Graduate-Student Pipeline
April 28, 2021
April 29, 2:00 p.m. Eastern Time. What can colleges do to recruit and retain more minority students? To examine this issue, a panel of leading professionals and practitioners in diversity and inclusion will join The Chronicle for an hour-long discussion of the steps needed to finally make inroads on this pivotal issue in higher ed today.
Vice President and Chief Diversity Officer Jabbar R. Bennett, Ph.D. Selected to National Advisory Board on Racial Equity in Higher Education
March 31, 2021 - Henry Mochida
On March 30, the Association of American Universities announced that Michigan State University’s Vice President and Chief Diversity Officer Jabbar R. Bennett, Ph.D. has been selected to serve on the Advisory Board on Racial Equity in Higher Education.
Students host event exploring socioeconomic equity in higher education
March 30, 2021
The Graduate and Undergraduate Entomology Student Society (GUESS) in collaboration with the CANR Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (ODEI) invited Dr. Anthony Abraham Jack, Harvard sociologist and author of “The Privileged Poor: How Elite Colleges Are Failing Disadvantaged Students,” for an afternoon of virtual events with students, faculty and staff. To host this event, GUESS and the CANR ODEI received the Creating Inclusive Excellence Grant from the MSU Office for Inclusion and Intercultural Initiatives.
College of Natural Science offers stop anti-APIDA and anti-Asian bias and violence resources
March 24, 2021
Proactively taking steps for self-education is a critical step to learning how to address anti-APIDA and anti-Asian violence and bias. The College of Natural Science has developed a list of resources to help guide this endeavor. The list offers resources around action steps, history, terminology and anti-racist tools, including resources for understanding the 2020 summer protests for Black Lives and much more.
February 2021 DEI Foundations Online Training
February 22, 2021
DEI Foundations is intended to heighten awareness and take a step toward ensuring all members of our community feel welcome, respected and included, which are prerequisites to offering an environment where all can succeed. Your participation is vital to the realization of this goal, and if you have completed the program, we thank you.
MSU Dialogues Online: Connecting Humanity through Conversation Even at a Distance
January 11, 2021 - Briana Bohannon
MSU Dialogues provides a unique opportunity for the MSU community to have conversations about issues that impact our community. It is one space for community members with different backgrounds and perspectives to be able to share their narratives and challenge the dominant narratives within our society. We each have our truths, which inform how we navigate the world, but those are not the only true experiences. Briana Bohannon, former participant and trained facilitator shares insights.
December 2020 - DEI Foundations
December 3, 2020
The online modules for Diversity Equity and Inclusion learning at MSU are underway. As an inaugural mandate from President Stanley, I3 coordinated the process of delivering 62,000 modules to employees and students over the last month (October/November).
December 2020 - A.R.T
December 3, 2020 - Monica Ramirez-Montagut, Director, Eli Broad Museum
The MSU Broad Art Museum’s full staff participated in a Diversity, Equity, Accessibility, and Inclusion (DEAI) training called A.R.T.(Addressing Racism Together). We shared six two-hour sessions on Friday mornings focused on restorative solutions. From that training, we created our own DEAI statement and identified areas of improvement that will inform our institutional goals in our upcoming 2021-2026 Strategic Plan.
December 2020 - Empathy Games
December 3, 2020 - Geri Zeldes
From 160 submissions to the “FUTURE PRESENT: Design in a Time of Urgency” exhibit, curators selected MSU’s Empathic Games as one of 16 to feature at the Science Gallery Detroit, a new pop-up museum located in the Bedrock Building at the corner of Woodward and Michigan Avenues.