Vice President and Chief Diversity Officer's March Letter

March 1, 2022 - Jabbar R. Bennett, Ph.D.

As my letter has been reflective of past, current, and upcoming events, I would like to start by acknowledging the recent ongoing bomb threats against Historically Black Colleges and Universities or HBCUs.

As a graduate of two HBCUs, these threats hit close to home. For many Black students, HBCUs provide a pathway to higher education and personal and professional achievement. During the same time as these threats, I presented at the College of Human Medicine’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Grand Rounds on the experiences of Black medical students, trainees and faculty who find themselves in medical schools in the United States.

HBCUs are an integral part of the higher education ecosystem and have contributed to our institution’s diversity, excellence and overall success. For example, HBCU alumni have enrolled in graduate and professional degree programs or have joined our ranks as esteemed faculty, staff and senior leaders. In addition, partnerships like Michigan State University’s new data science program with Spelman College, a historically Black women’s liberal arts college in Atlanta, GA, are critical examples of opportunities to advance equity in education.

These threats of violence came, regrettably, during Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., or MLK, commemorations and throughout Black History Month events on our campus. Yet, we at MSU have found ways to help uplift our voices, from the Wind Symphony concert honoring Black composers to University Advancement’s highlighting of Black alumni funds.

Likewise, the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Community Conversation event on MLK Day was organized by many across campus and offered a thought provoking keynote by Foundational Associate Professor Tamura Lomax from the Department of African American and African Studies, or AAAS. I thank all involved and especially our partners and students who had to shift the event online.

In other MLK celebrations, the Wharton Center featured composer, conductor and multigenre musician Damien Sneed in the ‘Our Song, Our Story’ performance on January 18. Honoring MLK Day, the performance was the culmination of Sneed’s residency for the 2020-21 academic year with the Wharton Center and College of Music, helping to bring social impact programming and advancing progress in diversity, equity and inclusion, or DEI. Relatedly, I had the honor of hosting the College of Music's comemorative Jazz Concert where I introduced Sneed along with University Distinguished Professor of Jazz Bass, Rodney Whitaker, and renowned jazz trumpeter Charles Tolliver who conducted MSU's Jazz Orchestra I on January 16.

Additionally, I commend the success of the MLK Stuff the Library drive and thank the WorkLife Office for leading this effort to raise funds for books for the Detroit Public Schools Community District. The campaign nearly doubled its goal and will surely help advance educational equity.

This Black History Month, I was pleased to hear about the contributions and legacy of Black, African, and African American leaders who have spoken on campus from University Communications and about football legend Gene Washington and America’s first fully integrated team from WKAR. Equally enlightening was the curation of the Terri Jewell papers, featuring a member of the Lansing area Black and LGBTQA+ communities by MSU Libraries, and the Black History Month learning resource guide for educators created by the Office of K-12 Outreach in the College of Education.

The 22nd Annual Dr. William G. Anderson Lecture Series, Slavery to Freedom from the College of Osteopathic Medicine, as well as the Office of K-12 Outreach’s Black History Month Sankofa Project series, served as the much-needed lightning rods for healing, inspiration, and provocation of our hearts and minds. But, perhaps most important were those recognitions of and by our students, including the Black Students’ Alliance second-annual Black Love week; the diligence of sophomore Morgan Braswell in AAAS; the generational legacy of alumnus Barry D. Amis, a founder of BSA; and the leadership of numerous Black Spartan alumni.

I must also acknowledge the impact of the McMichaels trial, which has recently become a landmark case as the first federal hate crime conviction in the State of Georgia’s history that comes after the State charges for the murder of Ahmaud Arbery. February 23 marked the anniversary of Ahmaud Arbery’s death and has been declared Ahmaud Arbery Day by the Georgia General Assembly.

As we grapple with ongoing threats and loss of human life, we remain committed to advancing collaborative opportunities for faculty of color and diversity scholars to support their retention and success. The Diversity Research Network led by Dr. Deborah Johnson, recently hosted an engaging and impactful researcher’s workshop. In acknowledging her leadership and significant contributions to MSU and beyond through her scholarship, I am thrilled to celebrate her recent appointment as an MSU Foundation Professor. Dr. Johnson is a professor in Human Development and Family Studies in the College of Social Science and is being recognized for her exemplary scholarly accomplishments, teaching innovation and excellence.

Finally, I am pleased to announce that on March 24, my office will launch our inaugural, signature Institutional Diversity and Inclusion Speaker Series to elevate expert voices on DEI topics impacting higher education. This first-ever conversation will feature MSU Professor and Chairperson Dorinda Carter Andrews from the Department of Teacher Education in the College of Education, who will speak to the myths and misconceptions around the consideration of race and racism in education and learning outcomes.

DEI happenings

The world faces many challenges, including international conflicts that impact our campus community. I am thinking of our Ukrainian students and I thank President Samuel L. Stanley Jr., M.D. for his acknowledgment of this atrocity. I also thank MSU experts for bringing additional context on the history and economic impact of the issue to increase our understanding of the conflict. We are all impacted by these events and we value all Spartans.

Likewise, as we strengthen relationships with our Chinese partners amid geopolitical tension, I want to emphasize our appreciation and support of the Asian and Asian American community at MSU. Recently, MSU recognized the multicultural diversity of the Lunar New Year celebrations in the first half of February. I thank Jeffrey Tsang, an academic specialist in the College of Engineering and Asian Pacific Islander Desi American/Asian Faculty Staff Association leader, for sharing his insight.

On January 25, I was pleased to participate in the Diverse Black Africa Program launch that strengthens existing ties between the Black diaspora faculty, staff, and administrators at MSU and throughout the Alliance for African Partnerships. The program is funded in part by the Office for Institutional Diversity and Inclusion’s Creating Inclusive Excellence Grant.

In addition, I was honored to introduce part two of the Globally Inclusive Language and Images webinar by International Studies and Programs on January 26, which offered an insightful analysis and personal reflections by our leaders on campus for advancing global DEI at MSU. 

I also want to share the Globally Inclusive Teaching Resources developed and recently distributed by the Office for International Students and Scholars to enhance the intercultural environment on our campus. You will learn how MSU is home to over 9,000 international students, scholars and family members from more than 140 countries.

January 27 was International Holocaust Remembrance Day marking the 77th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz camp by the Soviet Army. In an op-ed for the Lansing State Journal, Dr. Amy Simon, the William and Audrey Farber Family Chair in Holocaust Studies and European Jewish History at the Michael and Elaine Serling Institute for Jewish Studies and Modern Israel reflected on the importance of the day to eradicate acts of genocide.

Then in February, the Office of Cultural and Academic Transitions hosted the first of three events that are part of the Ánimo Latinx Series. Ánimo comes as COVID-19 has decreased Hispanic undergraduate enrollment. The community-building series allows students to have a sense of belonging, and the second event takes place on March 21 in Erickson Kiva from 6-8 p.m.

With so many DEI-related initiatives happening across campus, I think it’s essential to highlight a few here.

On February 11, MSU Board of Trustees Member Dr. Rema Vassar was one of the featured speakers at the 3rd Annual Women of Color Community Conference. The Women of Color Community organized the event under the coordination of Dr. Amber Benton.

On February 16, the Wharton Center for Performing Arts featured rising Latinx musician Gina Chavez for an exclusive online conversation with MSU audiences. The event provided an opportunity to learn about the experiences of underrepresented artists in the entertainment industry. 

The 15th Annual Muslim Studies Program Conference took place from February 24-25, organized by the Muslim Studies Program. Focused on ‘Belonging Nowhere’: States of Statelessness in the Muslim World, the conference explored the displacement of over 36 million Muslim refugees and stateless persons worldwide.

Furthermore, I would like to share the Division of Student Life and Engagement’s impressive and expansive publication, the Serving State winter edition, highlighting efforts to create belonging among students. I commend these and the many other programs, partners and initiatives at MSU.

Recognition and partnerships 

In recent news, I am elated about the selection of SmithGroup as the design firm for the long-awaited Multicultural Center. The firm’s commitment to engaging student groups and their experience working with diverse populations in higher education and cultural museums will help ensure that the design process for this significant construction and the belonging project will meet the needs of students. 

I congratulate Michigan State Museum’s selection to join the Smithsonian communities program to participate in a year-long initiative to deepen ties with Michigan’s Anishinaabeg communities. MSU occupies lands ceded in the 1819 Treaty of Saginaw, so efforts like these that seek and learn from our Indigenous communities intentionally are essential.

MSU is also advancing health equity in the community and beyond. On January 25, the Henry Ford Health System and MSU collaboration reached its first anniversary. They will focus their diversity, equity and inclusion efforts towards addressing health disparities in patients with cancer. Also, the Mott Foundation recently granted $25 million to MSU to expand the College of Human Medicine’s public health presence in Flint to help address emergent and chronic health challenges. 

I thank Martin J. Vanderploeg, a three-time alumnus in mechanical engineering and president and chief executive officer of Workiva, for his $17 million gift to create a scholarship program to support first-generation students at MSU. A portion of the gift will also fund endowments to attract and retain faculty leaders in the College of Engineering.

Additionally, once operational, the number one ranked nuclear physics graduate program in the Facility for Rare Isotope Beams will serve as a training ground for diverse scientists by providing access to the world-class facility. I thank Paul Guéye, associate professor of nuclear physics, for his thoughtful leadership. 

There have been many achievements in recent months. 

I was happy to learn that Safoi Babana-Hampton, professor of French and Francophone Studies in the Department of Romance and Classical Studies, became the inaugural recipient of the Humanities and Arts Research Program grant award. Dr. Babana-Hampton was awarded $100,000 for a documentary project tracing the transatlantic French and American slave trades.

In the national spotlight, Economist and Professor Lisa D. Cook at the James Madison College, or JMC, became the first Black woman nominated to the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. In addition, the Biden administration appointed Associate Professor Saweda Liverpool-Tasie in the Department of Agricultural Food and Resource Economics at the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, or CANR, to the Board for International Food and Agricultural Development. 

Furthermore, I congratulate Eunice F. Foster, professor in the Department of Plant, Soil and Microbial Sciences in CANR, as a 2021 American Association for the Advancement of Science Fellow for advancing diversity. Dr. Foster is the immediate past president of the Black Faculty, Staff, and Administrator Association and currently serves as its treasurer. She is one of nine MSU researchers elected for the top distinction.

Also, JMC welcomed the inaugural Stephen O. Murray Scholar in Residence, Salvador Vidal-Ortiz, an associate professor at American University, whose scholarship focuses on the intersections of race, sexuality, gender, migration and religion. In addition, JMC welcomed Dr. Brian Johnson as the inaugural assistant dean for diversity, equity and inclusion.

Terrance Burgess, assistant professor of science education in the Department of Teacher Education, received the 2022 Tinker fellowship to design equitable and culturally relevant science instruction for youth of color. 

In addition, I applaud Ingrid Aguayo-Fuentealba, associate director in Migrant Student Services, for receiving the West Michigan Woman Brilliance Award as a Champion of Service for agricultural and migrant farmworker communities of Michigan and surrounding areas.

Finally, we wish Dr. Amber Benton the best as she embarks on a new role as chief officer of diversity, equity, and inclusion at the School of Music Theatre and Dance at the University of Michigan. We thank her for her visionary leadership across many initiatives to drive diversity, equity and inclusion at MSU.

Looking ahead

With signs of spring, March brings several recognitions at MSU, including Arab Heritage Month, Asian Pacific Islander Desi American Heritage Month, Women*s History Month, and Transgender Day of Visibility on March 31.

April is Pride month at MSU, and I encourage every unit on campus to support our LGBTQIA2S+ community and The Gender and Sexuality Campus Center. Let us all recognize the related history, achievements, and strides in our campus and in Michigan. Leading up to Pride month, please lend your support to promoting the upcoming Queering Racial Justice Summit on March 18 and 19 to support intersectional student leadership development. Also, please help elevate the Center’s Transgender Day of Visibility Student Research Symposium and their call for presentations on research or academic work with applications due March 11.

The biennial Race in 21st Century Americas Conference organized by JMC will take place March 25 and 29-30. Under the leadership of Assistant Professor Rashida Harrison, the conference will focus on investigating systems of power that maintain racial stratification throughout the Americas.

I want to inform the community that the 2022 César Chávez and Dolores Huerta Commemorative Celebration, typically held at the end of March, has shifted to April 4-8. The theme for this year’s celebration is tu lucha es mi lucha (your struggle is my struggle). Stay tuned for further announcements as we near the date.

On March 7, Mohammad Khalil, director of the Muslim Studies Program is giving a talk on A History of U.S. Muslims that is part of MSU Alumni's Coffee with the Profs spring 2022 series. We can learn from this informative event on the rich, long and diverse history of Muslim peoples.

I am pleased for the launch of the Mitigating Bias in Hiring eLearning module from the Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in the Office of the Executive Vice President for Administration, or EVPA. The educational program will surely help further intercultural competence and support our diversity employee recruitment efforts. I thank Tina Alonzo, the EVPA diversity, equity and inclusion administrator for her leadership on this important initiative.

Last but not least, I want to highlight the Women’s Advisory Committee for Support Staff, or WACSS, panel on Recognizing and Combatting Antisemitism on March 3, from 12:30-2 p.m. The event is part of the WACSS Anti-Racism Insight Series and addresses our Jewish community’s concerns.

Sincerely, 

 

Jabbar R. Bennett, Ph.D. (he/him)

Vice President and Chief Diversity Officer