Students and the members of the community walk around downtown East Lansing on Sept. 7, 2022. Fall marks the start of East Lansing businesses seeing more foot-traffic as students return from summer break.
Michigan State University released its annual Diversity, Equity and Inclusion report for the 2022-2023 academic year. The summaries are organized into four different goals: increase diversity, ensure equity, promote inclusion and enhance outreach/engagement.
“With action items backed by senior leaders and aligned with the university strategic plan, MSU is positioned to advance systems-change efforts and further foster inclusive excellence across campus,” Terrence L. Frazier, the special assistant to Vice President and Chief Diversity Officer, said in the report.
A total of 270 diversity, equity and inclusion action items were tracked throughout the academic year.
One change is the diversity, equity and inclusion online training being revamped for fall 2023 to be more reflective of the MSU community.
The Office of Institutional Diversity and Inclusion also created a grant that distributes $410,000 with the plan to advance inclusivity. The money will be distributed to fund 37 projects including a Lunar New Year concert series, adaptive and accessible sports for students with physical disabilities, a butterfly garden and fellowship and mentorship programs.
A total of 128 action items from the report are focused on increasing diversity, 44 action items are centered around ensuring equity, 60 action items promote inclusion and 38 action items address enhancing outreach and engagement.
“Advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion within higher education and at MSU requires intentional effort, sustained commitment and accountability," the report said.
