Vice President and Chief Diversity Officer's May Letter
May 10, 2022 - Jabbar R. Bennett, Ph.D.
While spring was late to arrive, the end of the 2021-22 academic year was not delayed and brought many celebratory activities and advancements in diversity, equity and inclusion, or DEI.
Throughout the semester, I served on the search committee for Michigan State University’s new vice president for advancement Kim Tobin who started on May 1, replacing Marti K.S. Heil who is retiring after an accomplished 45-year career. Tobin, with more than two decades of experience, will be invaluable in transforming lives through philanthropic opportunities at MSU.
In addition, I had the honor of serving as co-chair of the search committee which identified our first vice president of human resources and chief human resources officer. I congratulate and welcome Christina K. Brogdon for her appointment in the role that begins on June 1. Brogdon will be replacing interim associate vice president Rick Fanning who we thank for his tireless leadership.
Brogdon brings decades of experience within and outside of higher education. Her commitment to supporting the recruitment and retention of diverse faculty and staff, and personal and professional development for all employees will undoubtedly be an asset in helping MSU reach our 2030 goals.
Strategic updates
Along those lines, in March, MSU embarked on its first campus-wide strategic update announcing the DEI Strategic Theme Subcommittee of the University’s Strategic Planning Implementation Steering Committee. In addition, I presented updates to Spartans near and far, including on campus at the University Libraries’ Dean’s Forum and a podcast with Russ White.
In addition, I would like to especially thank University Advancement and the Alumni Office for the opportunity to engage with donors and alumni in Chicago, New York City and Atlanta during the month of April.
On April 9, I had the privilege of attending SpartyBall 2022 as a special guest. The Chicago Spartans annual event brings together alumni from across the country to raise funds for several endowed scholarships that support qualified students from the Chicago area in attending MSU.
In Atlanta, I met with MSU alumni and chapter leaders. In addition, I participated in a speaking event at the National Center for Civil and Human Rights hosted by Aisha Howard, a graduate of MSU’s School of Journalism and an Emmy-nominated journalist.
While in New York, I had the distinct pleasure of joining President Samuel L. Stanley Jr., M.D., and participating in the first-ever Wharton Series speaking event around the theme, “A Vision for Strengthening Our Community.” The event was held at the Lincoln Center in New York City with MSU alumna Endea Owens, the house bassist for The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. Owens performed and shared her inspirational story of finding mentorship at MSU while studying under University Distinguished Professor of Jazz Bass and Director of Jazz Studies, Rodney Whitaker.
On a related note, I thought it was befitting that Whitaker would lead the MSU Jazz Band to victory only a week later at the Lincoln Center’s Jack Rudin Jazz Championship on April 20. I congratulate the College of Music for their achievements as one of our many points of pride driving inclusive excellence and propelling MSU towards our 2030 goals.
Also, I had the opportunity to offer welcome remarks at the recent All-Gender Restroom Design Study Town Halls in partnership with Institutional Space Planning and Management, and Infrastructure Planning and Facilities. These sessions were held to engage students, faculty, staff and alumni in the visioning process and to address any questions or concerns related to this effort. The findings will help steer future inclusive restroom designs for all community members. If you missed the sessions and want to share input, the form will be open through May 21.
I am excited to announce that my office will be distributing the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Report that captures the impact of the last two academic years 2020-21 and 2021-22 in June. For the first time, the report incorporates a narrative section in addition to the demographic data report to provide a fuller view of MSU’s DEI efforts.
Office news
There are several updates from my office. First, I’d like to announce and welcome two colleagues. In March, Fiscal and Human Resources Officer, Evette Chavez, joined IDI from the Office of Civil Rights and Title IX Education and Compliance. Chavez’s decades of experience at MSU will be a great asset to our team.
Additionally, I’d like to welcome Matthew J. Olovson, J.D., IDI’s director of equity and compliance. Olovson brings an extensive background in equal opportunity and affirmative action and will be vital to ensuring our campus is on track with diversity hiring goals and best practices. Please help me welcome the most recent members of our team!
In other office news, I congratulate Audrey Bentley, IDI’s senior coordinator for community outreach and compliance, for receiving the Department of Police and Public Safety’s Trailblazer Award during their Women’s History Month Bazaar on March 29. Related, Bentley has been coordinating the review of the Excellence in Diversity Awards program, which paused in 2021-22 to align with the DEI Steering Committee’s Report and Plan. Per the recommendations, the program has been expanded to become an all-university Excellence in Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Award, or EDEIA, and is now accepting nominations through Aug. 31.
I would also like to mention the IDI Speaker Series, another program coordinated by Bentley and partners across campus. On March 24, I hosted a campus-wide webinar in dialogue with Professor Dorinda Carter Andrews, the Department of Teacher Education chairperson, on teaching race and racism in education.
This year, Dr. Andrews is being recognized with the William J. Beal Outstanding Faculty Award at the MSU Awards Convocation on May 11.
Each year, the Michigan State University, Greater Lansing and East Lansing communities gather at MSU to honor the legacy of the two most prominent farmworker labor leaders and civil rights activists, César E. Chávez and Dolores Huerta. In early April, the 2022 César Chávez and Dolores Huerta Celebration featured a robust series of events, including a labor movement panel, solidarity march and slam poetry by Craft Cultura, a Chicanx/Latinx community-based organization comprised of a collective of South Texas writers and creatives that produce stories of empowerment by hosting free and culturally relevant events to borderlands residents.
Last but not least, the 2022 MSU Juneteenth Celebration planning is underway, with the event date and location set for June 17 at the Breslin Center. Again, I’d like to recognize and thank the committee and especially the co-chairs, Stratton Lee, III, assistant director of undergraduate programs in the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources and president of the Black Faculty, Staff and Administrators Association, and Julie Sochay, senior director of content and communication for WKAR, for all their hard work.
Furthermore, I am excited about this year’s Juneteenth theme of Afrofuturism and look forward to Department of English Professor Julian Chambliss’ keynote address “Not Only Darkness: The Legacy and Future of Black Speculative Practice.” I encourage all to RSVP for the event while space is available.
DEI happenings
In recognition of Women’s History Month in March, my office was glad to co-sponsor the Women*s Student Services organized events, one of which featured Gabby Rivera as a speaker at the Erickson Kiva. In addition, I’d like to bring attention to the Office of K-12 Outreach’s Women’s History Month 2022 resources for teachers, parents and students to use throughout the year.
Asian Pacific Islander Desi American Heritage Month is recognized in May nationally but is celebrated from mid-March to mid-April at MSU to engage students during the spring semester. This year, I was heartened to better understand the history of the celebration at Michigan State, which dated back to the early 90s and came about following conversations with students after the murder of Vincent Chin in Highland Park, Michigan. This year marks the 40th anniversary of Chin’s death on June 19.
March 31 marked Transgender Day of Visibility and was recognized at MSU by The Gender and Sexuality Campus Center, or GSCC, at the Trans Day of Visibility Student Research Symposium to highlight themed panel presentations from trans scholars.
April was Sexual Assault Awareness Month, during which MSU hosted numerous listening sessions to review the Relationship Violence and Sexual Misconduct strategic plan. In addition, April 12-17 marked the beginning of the Prevention, Outreach and Education Department’s It’s On Us Week, a student-led series to raise awareness of gender-based violence and end sexual violence that coincided with Take Back The Night events at MSU.
One of the vital institutional emails you should have received during these busy months of spring is the Know More Campus Survey, which informs the RVSM Strategic Plan. I encourage us all to take the time to complete and promote this climate survey that is essential to providing insight into campus culture and perceptions to inform relationship violence and sexual misconduct policies at Michigan State.
April is Pride Month at MSU when several programs organized by GSCC take place to recognize LGBTQA+ members of the community. I enjoyed reading about sophomore Ryan Peters who participated in annual programs like Pride Prom and works as a Residence Halls Association representative for People Respecting the Individuality of Students at MSU, otherwise known as PRISM, which are necessary for fostering a culture of belonging.
Fifty years ago, Michigan’s first LGBTQA+ pride observance was held in Detroit and as a week-long event that commemorated the Stonewall Riots of 1969. MSU is set to recognize national Pride Month in June with the Unconditional Love 5K organized by GSCC with Women*s Student Services, The University Activities Board and Recreational Sports and Fitness Services. The roll, walk, stroll or run raises money for GSCC’s Unconditional Love Fund for LGBTQA+ students. I’m signing up and I look forward to your support and participation in this campus initiative!
During National Arab American Heritage Month, also in April, Muslim Studies Program and James Madison College Assistant Professor Linda Sayed published an article on growing up Arab Muslim American. I found it helpful in reminding MSU of the diversity and history of members of the Arab community and the prejudice that they face, in particular the increased Islamophobia post 9/11.
Ramadan, the Muslim observance of month-long fasting, prayer, reflection and community, took place in April. To help alleviate the strains during this busy time of the year, many across campus took it upon themselves to go above and beyond to create a welcoming campus experience, such as Senior Executive Chef Kurt Kwiatkowski in Culinary Services, who developed Ramadan dining options that included special celebrations for Eid al-Fitr.
I thank Assistant Professor Amy Simon, in the James Madison College, Department of History and Serling Institute for Jewish Studies and Modern Israel, for reminding the Spartan community of the importance of Yom HaShoah, or Holocaust Remembrance Day, which is observed from sundown on April 27 to sunset on April 28. I would also like to congratulate Dr. Simon for being named a recipient of the 2022 Teacher Scholar Awards.
Although the Holocaust ended nearly eighty years ago, antisemitic attacks in this country have been rising over the last several years. Thus, I was pleased by the collaboration between the Serling Institute for Jewish Studies and Modern Israel, and Muslim Studies Program via their second joint workshop this year titled “Recognizing and Combatting Antisemitism and Islamophobia” on April 12.
On March 1, I represented MSU at the Israeli Consulate Summit at the Chicago Mayor’s Office with executive and university officials across the Midwest. The event featured a presentation by Professor Mona Khoury-Kassabri, vice president of diversity and dean of the Paul Baerwald School of Social Work and Social Welfare at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, or HU. Dr. Khoury-Kassabri is the first-ever Arab woman to serve as university vice president at HU.
MSU has a long-standing partnership with Hebrew University through the Serling Institute, including visiting professors and study abroad programs.
Finally, with April being Autism Acceptance Month, I must acknowledge the leading research of psychology graduate Mariam Sayed, who has been working to help advance communication technology for autistic individuals to further opportunities and understanding. I applaud Sayed’s achievements along with the work of our arts community to create opportunities for dialogue on disability, be it the Kahlo Without Borders exhibition open through Aug. 7 or the panel about disability and art at the Broad Art Museum.
In April, a team of researchers at MSU received a five-year $3.7 million grant from the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders to study language in young children with autism. I congratulate Assistant Professor Courtney Venker in communicative sciences and disorders in the College of Communication Arts and Sciences as the principal investigator.
In other news, I had the opportunity to provide opening remarks at several forums on campus this spring, including the 2022 Leadership Accountability in Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Virtual Conference and a panel at Unsettling Genealogies: A Forum on Pseudo Indians, Race-Shifting, Pretendians and Self-Indigenization in Media, Arts, Politics and the Academy.
On March 25, I introduced Dr. Mona Hanna-Atisha, C.S. Mott Endowed Professor of Public Health, at the Social Justice and Interdisciplinarity workshop organized by the Center for Integrative Studies in the Arts and Humanities. The workshop focused on issues of equity and inclusion on several interdisciplinary topics.
Reflections
Following the developments around the police killing of Congolese immigrant Patrick Lyoya in Grand Rapids, where MSU’s College of Human Medicine’s headquarters is located, many in our community have sought ways to counter the devaluing of Black lives.
Michigan State has underscored its commitment to addressing these ongoing challenges in the MSU Strategic Plan 2030. Spartans are doubling down in combatting anti-Blackness, from White Coats for Black Lives to strategic plans to end health disparities in urban and rural areas in Michigan. These efforts are beacons of hope in our state and are one way MSU is striving to maximize health equity and improve the quality of life for all Michiganders.
Following the murder of George Floyd and the ensuing movement post-summer 2020, faculty at the College of Music came together to address issues of bias, hate and violence. On May 8, in partnership with WKAR, the broadcast premiere of “Music for Social Justice” was released. The seven-part series, hosted by recording artist and former artist-in-residence Damien Sneed, is a powerful expression and sends the message that our faculty are truly invested in addressing structural racism and bigotry.
I can’t over emphasize the importance of the arts and I encourage the campus community to visit Artist-in-Residence: Critical Race Studies Dr. Elka M. Stevens’ profound exhibit “38.8% Visualizing Racial Identity in Search of Selfhood and Others,” in the Union Art Gallery.
In her exhibit, Dr. Stevens, associate professor and fashion design program coordinator and textiles collection curator in Howard University’s Art Department, draws upon critical race theory to interrogate aspects of race, ethnicity, nationality and genetics using textiles and clothing. If you have the opportunity, make sure to visit the gallery open through June 10.
I congratulate Lillian Young who graduated with a Master of Fine Arts degree and received the 2022 MFA Prize for her extensive study in “Wanted: Runaways” a series of 100 oil and ink portraits depicting freedom seekers. Young was the featured artist at the inaugural MSU Juneteenth Celebration in 2021 with her exhibit “Hanging Haints” and will be providing the forthcoming artwork for the 2022 theme on Afrofuturism.
In recognition of the work ahead, it is also important to celebrate our successes. I want to acknowledge and congratulate the Department of African American and African Studies, or AAAS, for launching a bachelor’s degree in African American and African Studies for the first time in MSU history.
In the words of AAAS Inaugural Chairperson Dr. Ruth Nicole Brown,
Students like senior Jamia Henry, who recently graduated, became immersed in AAAS courses, which provided her with the tools, foundation and a path to address oppression in the future.
In looking to the past to inform the present, I would be remiss to not mention long-standing faculty, like Dr. Pero G. Dagbovie, University Distinguished Professor in the Department of History and former associate dean in the Graduate School, who continues to serve as a source of inspiration for many MSU alumni. His confirmation as the associate provost for graduate and postdoctoral studies and dean of the Graduate School is welcome news for many in the community.
Awards
I want to acknowledge Dr. Wanda Lipscomb, the College of Human Medicine’s senior associate dean for diversity, equity and inclusion, for receiving the Equity Champion Award from the Grand Rapids African American Health Institute. Dr. Lipscomb was one of four women honored and received the award for her many contributions to diversifying the medical profession and promoting equitable health care.
Ann Crain, an academic specialist advisor in the College of Arts and Letters, was recently featured to highlight her experiences in the Michigan chapter of the American Council on Education’s Women’s Network, or MI-ACE, while at Mid Michigan College in Harrison, Michigan. Through the Office of Faculty and Academic Staff Development, MSU is one of fifty member institutions belonging to MI-ACE and offers mentorship to support the advancement of women and women of color to achieve structural change.
In related news, Dr. Nwando Achebe, associate dean for diversity, equity and inclusion in the College of Social Science, has been named one of 46 ACE Fellows for 2022-23. The ACE Fellow Program prepares faculty and staff for senior positions in college and university administration, with more than 80% of fellows having gone on to serve in senior roles. Congratulations, Dr. Achebe.
Dr. Melissa Woo, executive vice president for administration and chief information officer, has been appointed to serve on the EDUCAUSE board of directors, a nonprofit of technology leaders and professionals dedicated to advancing higher education. Congratulations to Dr. Woo.
Dr. Teresa Mastin, professor and chairperson of the Department of Marketing and Public Relations, was recently elected as vice president of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication to begin on October 1. Dr. Mastin will go through the leadership ladder and serve as the AEJMC president for 2024-25. Congratulations, Dr. Mastin.
Dr. Jerlando F.L. Jackson, chair of the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, has been appointed as the first Black dean of the College of Education. Dr. Jackson’s prolific scholarship and educational leadership in the academy and K-12 will be an asset for advancing diversity, equity and inclusion goals including expansion of our institutional outreach and engagement efforts.
I want to congratulate Melanie Trowbridge, who was recently appointed as the inaugural assistant vice president of human resources in the Office of Health Sciences. Trowbridge is the first person to serve in the newly-created post within the office that oversees the Colleges of Human, and Osteopathic Medicine, Nursing and MSU Health Care. Trowbridge began her role in early April, bringing more than 20 years of experience from the public and private sector and joins the Office of Health Sciences from the Facility for Rare Isotope Beams.
Additional recognition
If you missed it, I highly recommend watching the award-winning documentary “Brenda’s Story: From Undocumented to Documented,” and Q&A panel featuring 2021-22 Homecoming Court student Brenda Pilar Ayala. The film, directed by School of Journalism Professor Geri Alumit Zeldes, Ph.D., powerfully captures Ayala’s journey from an undocumented to documented student, revealing the barriers that undocumented students face in attaining a college degree. I would also like to congratulate Dr. Zeldes for being named a recipient of the William J. Beal Outstanding Faculty Award.
In other news, the College of Natural Science Dean’s Office recently promoted three staff members to acknowledge their outstanding leadership and contributions, and to expand and strengthen the college’s diversity, equity and inclusion and student success efforts — namely Danielle Flores Lopez, Kaitlin Peterson and Kanchan Pavangadkar.
In April, the Multicultural Center Planning Committee selected the site for building a new center on the northeast corner of North Shaw and Farm lanes. The SmithGroup has been facilitating engagement sessions to inform the design process for the building, which is located in the heart of MSU's campus.
On April 29, the Resource Center for Persons with Disabilities, or RCPD, celebrated its 50th anniversary at their annual awards celebration. I want to congratulate long-time Director Michael Hudson and I encourage all to listen to his podcast interview with Russ White as we recognize this milestone achievement.
RCPD efforts predate United States disability legislative policy and have made an incredible impact on students like Anna Forest, a blind third-year undergraduate studying psychology. The center’s innovative approach to supporting the individual has made campus and higher education more accessible, creating a greater sense of belonging, purpose and success.
As we strive to expand our understanding of all disabilities, mental health has become an emergent topic in diversity, equity and inclusion spaces and concerns many Generation Z students. For this reason, I am encouraged by an initiative leading into Mental Health Awareness Month this May.
Michigan State University is expanding its mental health service capacity for students through a partnership with UWill that will offer telemental health. Set to launch on May 15, the pilot program will be an extension of the care provided through Counseling and Psychiatric Services and benefits students seeking short-term virtual counseling.
Mental health spans many areas and impacts all at MSU, including administrative staff such as Anne Bishop Shoup, associate vice president of University Advancement. I commend Shoup for sharing her story with the WorkLife Office on recovery and the importance of creating a safe space for support. If you would like to join a discussion about creating resources, please email msuspartanrecovery@gmail.com.
In closing, I look forward to being in community with you during the warm summer months ahead!
Sincerely,
Jabbar R. Bennett, Ph.D. (he/him)
Vice President and Chief Diversity Officer