Vice President and Chief Diversity Officer's May Letter

April 30, 2023 - Jabbar R. Bennett, Ph.D.

Greetings,

Excitement is in the air with the emerging warmth of spring and new life literally sprouting from the ground! With commencement only days away, the energy and passion that drive the Spartan spirit prove to be as strong as ever.

Just 2 weeks ago, on April 21, jubilation was pervasive as the campus celebrated the multicultural center groundbreaking which drew dozens of current and former students, as well as employees. Hundreds of guests joined to witness this historic event and acknowledge that the building represents many decades of advocacy, principally by underrepresented minority students and alums at Michigan State University.

The multicultural center has been over 50 years in the making and longer if we consider what Citizen of Leech Lake Band and Descendant of Six Nations Mohawk and MSU alum Don Lyons reminded us. Before offering a closing song and land blessing, Lyons asked us to reflect on the university’s 1855 founding and how the building and MSU can serve all our students, including our North American Indigenous population.

The ceremony was truly invigorating and the energy palpable. If you couldn’t attend in person, please watch the WKAR recorded event video to experience it for yourself.

I ask that we hold these reflections in our hearts as we wrap up what has undoubtedly been an extraordinarily challenging semester and academic year for all. These tangible actions demonstrate our commitment to creating a world-class academic environment where diversity, equity and inclusion are clearly articulated, and fully integrated in our core values and operations.

We must all continue to make individual and collective investments as we move forward together.

Sincerely,

Jabbar R. Bennett (he/him)

Vice President and Chief Diversity Officer