Rachael Denhollander, Trinea Gonczar and Sterling Riethman — survivors of abuse by former MSU physician Larry Nassar — bring lived experience as well as years of work in survivor advocacy, trauma-informed care and public engagement. They join Campbell and Andrea Munford, former lead detective in the Nassar investigation, to form MSU’s newly established Collaborative Advisory Board.

Denhollander said the announcement marks a deeply personal milestone.

"The heartbeat of every survivor is to know that the next generation is going to be better protected," she said. "Achieving that goal is impossible without robust diagnostics."

She acknowledged the years-long delay, noting that she and Riethman brought "the exact same proposal" to MSU leadership back in 2018.

Denhollander credited the university’s new leadership, particularly President Kevin Guskiewicz, for finally creating the conditions necessary to move it forward.

"What you really do see differently is a leader who’s come in, taking the time to sit and to listen and to learn, and he’s moving with a level of courage and integrity that’s obviously quite rare in these spaces," she said.

The assessment will examine both cultural and structural failures at MSU, including how past misconduct reports were addressed.

"There were places where individuals had warnings and they weren't motivated to do something about them,” Denhollander said. “That's a cultural problem."

She noted that communication breakdowns were also common.

"We have places where individuals either didn't have clear communication channels or didn't know what policies to follow," she said. "We have places where we have what we call communication silos — where red flags or reports pop up in different departments, but there’s no clear communication sheet. So everybody holds just a piece of the puzzle."

Denhollander said this kind of fragmented response illustrates the structural problems the board intends to address.

The Collaborative Advisory Board will oversee the selection of an external firm with proven expertise in trauma-informed practices and stakeholder engagement to conduct the assessment.

The board will issue a formal Request for Proposal (RFP) to evaluate potential partners based on their qualifications, methodology and alignment with project goals. Board members will collaborate with MSU’s legal team to ensure the final contract includes confidentiality protections for survivors and reflects the project’s full scope.

Phase one will prioritize survivor and stakeholder engagement, using multiple communication methods to ensure participants can share their stories in a safe and accessible manner.

While MSU has already taken steps to measure campus climate — such as launching the “Know More” survey — the board emphasized that bringing in an outside firm will be key to identifying remaining gaps and strengthening prevention efforts.

There is no fixed timeline for the assessment, as the board emphasized that meaningful progress requires time, care, transparency and integrity.

"I think the importance of saying that we don't have a timeline on this is because we have to check ourselves every step of the way," Riethman said. "We have to make sure that we're meeting our objectives and that we're honoring what we've heard from our stakeholder groups. Because ultimately if we don't do that, we haven't been successful."

Gonczar noted that while being a survivor offers important insight, it’s not the only reason she, Denhollander and Riethman were chosen to serve on the board.

"I have really appreciated that approach, and I'm very grateful that leadership has recognized that it’s certainly part of our experience, but it doesn't define who we are," she said. "For survivors who are just embarking on this journey, or who are still processing early on, you are in complete control of how you want that experience to be a part of your life moving forward — and no one controls that except for you."