Oct. 26, 2020: Mandatory DEI learning for MSU campus community introduced
Dear MSU Students, Faculty and Staff,
Earlier this year, we announced our commitment to roll out mandatory diversity, equity and inclusion — DEI for short — education and development learning for our students, faculty, staff and administrators. Our Board of Trustees announced they, too, would participate in this educational opportunity. After diligent and thoughtful work to create a robust program that engaged feedback from stakeholders throughout campus, we are pleased to inform you that MSU’s Office for Inclusion and Intercultural Initiatives will begin making this critical online learning experience available to each of you in the coming days and weeks.
The program, DEI Foundations at MSU, introduces our campus community to core DEI principles. It is one of many opportunities you will have to further your knowledge and baseline understanding of how we all can work together toward an equitable and inclusive university for ourselves and future generations of Spartans. It is our expectation that we all will approach this learning opportunity with curiosity and an understanding that creating a positive campus culture in which we all can succeed is our united goal.
Please look for an email from the Office of Regulatory Affairs at MSU in the coming days with your unique access information and deadline to complete the required educational development. Similar to our required relationship violence and sexual misconduct education program, you will receive emails reminding you to complete the curriculum. While the e-learning program will become available soon, students will have an extended period to complete it due to the close proximity to the end of the semester. However, students who pass the deadline in spring 2021 will experience restrictions on viewing grades from the registrar. For faculty, staff and administrators, their supervisors will be notified following the end of the compliance period and employees may be subject to discipline if they do not complete the program by the deadline.
We recognize even during these challenging times that our responsibility is to ensure our continued commitment to becoming a safer, more respectful and more inclusive institution. Additional learning experiences to complement DEI Foundations at MSU learning are offered through the Office for Inclusion and Intercultural Initiatives or within your college.
Together, we can and will create a campus that is diverse, inclusive and reflective of the university we all are proud to call our own.
Samuel L. Stanley Jr., M.D. Teresa K. Woodruff, Ph.D.
President Provost