In October 2024, Michigan State University co-hosted the Public Summit of the Action Collaborative on Preventing Sexual Harassment in Higher Education with the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine, or NASEM. Offered both in-person and virtually, the summit was a free, open forum for the higher education community to explore innovative approaches to addressing and preventing sexual harassment.

During the two-day event, participants collaborated to identify, discuss and elevate promising solutions for creating safer, more inclusive academic environments. Attendees included members of the Action Collaborative, leaders from the higher education sector, sexual harassment researchers, practitioners, nonprofit organizations and policymakers from across the country.

As a founding member of the Action Collaborative, MSU was proud to co-host an event of this caliber, bringing together individuals from academic and research institutions and other relevant groups to collaboratively work toward shared action on addressing and preventing sexual harassment across all disciplines and among all people in higher education.

“Our commitment to foster safe and respectful working and educational environments is at the foundation of all of the work we do here at MSU – and it is also integrated into our ongoing work,” shared Thomas Jeitschko, interim provost and executive vice president for academic affairs at MSU. “This kind of peer-based and collaborative exchange of ideas is central to the academic and educational missions of any place of higher education – and also to its campus culture and community.”

Before the summit began, MSU leaders engaged in improving organizational culture were invited to enjoy coffee and conversation with Jeitschko. Given their experience and dedication to forming positive change, it created a space for important dialogue and discussion.

Various university areas were represented, including the Center for Survivors, the Office of Civil Rights and Title IX Education and Compliance, Student Life & Engagement, International Studies and Programs, the Department of Police and Public Safety, Athletics, the Gender and Sexuality Campus Center, and an array of colleges across campus.

Michael Allensworth, director of Employee and Graduate Student Programs in the Prevention, Outreach and Education Department, saw it as a chance to consider global solutions for campus-wide issues. “Each time I have an opportunity to connect with colleagues from across the university, I am reminded of the genuine dedication that our faculty and staff have for the institution,” he shared.

Beyond engaging in conversation, attendees established connections they may not otherwise have had the chance to make. “I was able to meet a colleague from Faculty and Academic Staff Affairs (FASA) whom I had not yet had the opportunity to connect with and after introducing myself as well as my role and work, we found a connection to a specific project that the FASA colleague was working on,” Allensworth said. “And since the coffee and conversation, we have scheduled a time to connect and further discuss how we can work together on a future training project.”

After the small group discussed their roles in advancing critical work at MSU, the summit launched with welcoming remarks from Jeitschko. He was followed by Vicki Magley, chair of the Action Collaborative’s Advisory Committee and professor of psychological sciences at the University of Connecticut, who emphasized key findings from NASEM's 2018 report on sexual harassment of women.

Member organizations have made strides in addressing recommendations, working on policy development and revisions, creating unique resources, emphasizing transparency and accountability, and focusing on reporting practices to ensure optimal support and planning are in place.

Recently, MSU’s leadership on this issue has been spotlighted through the publication of an issue paper titled Exploring Policies to Prevent ‘Passing the Harasser’ in Higher Education, co-authored by Laura Rugless, vice president for Civil Rights and Title IX coordinator at MSU, and Melissa Sortman, assistant provost for FASA.

Presentations throughout the two-day event provided attendees with in-depth knowledge to help them continue this important work. Key session topics included:

• Innovative Strategies: Discussions on new approaches to combat sexual harassment, focusing on effective prevention and response measures.
• Policy Frameworks: Examination of existing policies and potential reforms to enhance institutional accountability and foster safer educational environments.
• Community Engagement: Emphasis on involving various stakeholders, including students, faculty, and administration, to create a collective response to harassment.
• Research and Data: Presentation of the latest research findings related to sexual harassment in higher education, highlighting trends, impacts and effective interventions.
• Promising Practices: Sharing successful case studies and practices from institutions that work to address harassment and support affected individuals.

Each session aims to foster collaboration and generate actionable insights to strengthen efforts against sexual harassment in academic settings.

Meaghan Kozar, project director of the Inclusive Campus Initiative, participated in the conversation with the interim provost and the two-day summit. “I gained the opportunity to increase my knowledge of sexual harassment in ways that complicate my perceptions of what I thought I knew,” she shared. “I am deeply thinking about how it manifests when we might think it does not exist in our work environments. I am thinking about ways to create spaces where employees and other community members truly feel heard and supported. The final speaker from day one shared a powerful framework reminding us that we cannot simply want, say or wish we are creating a culture of respect and care and asserted that a ‘pursuit of a culture of respect requires an infrastructure.’”

Deep reflection, inspiration and creating actionable takeaways is precisely what organizers hoped would result from the event. Enobong (Anna) Branch, who serves as chair of the Leadership Committee of the Action Collaborative and senior vice president for equity at Rutgers University expressed that sessions were intended to be motivating, informative and engaging.

“I hope that we inspired attendees to adopt the ‘can do’ attitude that the Action Collaborative works to achieve in preventing and responding to sexual harassment,” she said. “The presentations encouraged attendees to dream, to rethink their institutional responses, to reconsider how things have always worked, and offered examples of how to be intentional in preserving agency for survivors while remaining in compliance with Title IX regulations. There is still so much work to do, and the Action Collaborative reflects a collective commitment to institutional actions that to drive real change.”

This summit also directly aligns with MSU’s Relationship Violence and Sexual Misconduct, or RVSM, Strategic Plan, which outlines a comprehensive, university-wide approach to preventing and responding to sexual misconduct. The plan emphasizes improving organizational culture, enhancing prevention efforts and creating trauma-informed responses. Participation in this summit reinforces MSU’s ongoing commitment to those goals and allows the university to both share its progress and learn from innovative practices nationwide.

Continuous reinforcement of the collective efforts to build safe and nurturing environments are important to this work. Attendee Laura Bix, who is associate dean for graduate studies in MSU’s College of Agriculture and Natural Resources and interim director of the School of Packaging, has been involved in these efforts for the majority of her career. “All of the speakers added unique perspectives and approaches,” she shared. “I was impressed by the amount of thought and care that is going into training and building of positive cultures, to influence policy (and practice) and bring attention to these issues.”

Those who did not have an opportunity to attend the summit can learn more and view videos of the presentations online. For questions or additional information, please contact the Office of Faculty and Academic Staff Affairs at fasaffairs@msu.edu.