As I start my fourth year as president, I’m reminded that I came to MSU with a commitment to prioritize the health and safety of our community. As we kick off Domestic Violence Awareness Month this week, I would like to take a moment to share my gratitude for all the work being done to prevent and respond to relationship violence and sexual misconduct issues across campus. Much has already been accomplished, and I would like to share and acknowledge our progress as we strive to improve our campus culture and strengthen prevention and education efforts related to violence and sexual misconduct.

By the time I arrived in August 2019, many very important steps had already been taken to address systemic and historical problem areas. I was able to work with several individuals to map out additional changes and improvements by working with the Relationship Violence and Sexual Misconduct Advisory Group, reviewing data from the spring 2019 Know More Campus Survey and meeting directly with survivors.

In 2019, for example, I appointed two RVSM advisers, Professor Rebecca Campbell and now Deputy Chief Andrea Munford, to report directly to me to provide regular guidance and make strategic recommendations, and their efforts have proved invaluable.

In 2019, we launched the Center for Survivors Crisis Chat and staffed it with volunteers 12 hours every day of the week. Additionally, we added dozens of staff positions to offices across campus advancing our RVSM prevention work.

In 2020, we launched an unprecedented program on a college campus: the Sexual Assault Health Care Program, providing free 24/7 first-response medical care to survivors from both our campus and the community.

We established the Climate & Response Unit within our Prevention, Outreach and Education Department to promote healing and culture change following incidents and/or investigations of sexual harassment or misconduct. We also created a victim-centered, trauma-informed interview space for law enforcement to conduct interviews with survivors who wish to report sexual assault.  

Though 2021 was a very tough year considering the impact of COVID-19, we still managed to make it a productive one with the launch of our institution-wide RVSM strategic plan, which includes a comprehensive set of initiatives for a prevention-focused and trauma-informed approach to RVSM. We also created the MSU Police Community Support Bureau, which consists of the Special Victim and Community Care Units. Then we made it possible to revoke emeritus status and other honors and awards in cases of faculty misconduct.

Finally, this year, we launched the Support More Initiative to provide guidance for how to respond to RVSM disclosures in a manner that is helpful to survivors — and to promote related campus resources and services. We completed two rounds of reports from Cozen O’Connor, an outside law firm with expertise in Title IX compliance, which stated that investigations by the Office of Institutional Equity are “fair, impartial and thorough.” Lastly, we updated the Discipline and Dismissal of Tenured Faculty for Cause Policy and are grateful to efforts initiated by MSU Safe Place that resulted in them receiving a federal grant that has allowed for expanding staff and services to better serve the increased needs of our student and employee survivors of relationship violence and stalking.

In short, there’s been a unified commitmentto achieve the highest standards of care and safety, to prevent misconduct and support those who experience RVSM issues in a trauma-informed manner. Moving forward, we will remain steadfast in advancing this important work.

This academic year, we will carefully review the results of the 2022 Know More Campus Survey, which will provide crucial information for continuing to positively transform the culture related to sexual misconduct at MSU. Together, with university leadership and academic governance, we will develop a new professional standards policy to further foster a culture of respect and belonging.

This summer, with the leadership of our two RVSM advisers, we began work to change the organizational structure of our Office for Civil Rights and Title IX Education and Compliance by bringing in an outside consultant to map and improve the process flow. We also launched the search for our new OCR leader, elevating the position to a vice president role.

So, what impact has this had on our campus? In short, we are seeing a recovery of trust in the institution. As we anticipate the results of the Know More Campus Survey, which will highlight perceptions of students, faculty and staff, we can share that separate research from an external firm, Edelman, showed a significant increase in the number of alumni who highly trust the university, from 54% in 2020 to 67% in 2022, and a significant drop in the number of those who distrust the university, from 18% to 10%.

We know we still have much work to do, but I’m so grateful to the many staff, faculty and leaders who are working so hard to foster a safe and inclusive campus community for all. And I encourage you all to visit MSU’s Our Commitment website to learn more about our efforts.