The MSU College of Engineering is committed to fostering a safe, inclusive and supportive environment in which everyone has the opportunity to be heard, feel valued, and achieve success.
This year, we are excited to welcome one of the largest incoming classes of Spartan Engineers ever, including the largest number of women engineering students in our history. We highly value your confidence and will work to continually earn the trust that you have placed in the College of Engineering.
My note from January 2018 to the College of Engineering family outlining our resolve to build and strengthen trust in our institution is available here.
Throughout the university, we are dedicated to ensuring that our actions reflect our values and commitment to making Michigan State University a safer, healthier, more respectful campus community. You can learn more about MSU’s commitment to a safe and civil culture, ongoing policy changes and improvements, and resources for support at: Our Commitment
Within the College of Engineering, we are committed to ensuring that all members of our community feel safe, respected, listened to, and included, with access to the resources they need to succeed and thrive.
Specific actions being undertaken include:
- More training and resources for faculty and staff members to support a diverse community (inclusive and welcoming to people of all genders, races, cultures, religions, ability/disability status, and socio-economic circumstances.)
- Strong support for and alignment of programs that cultivate diversity among our faculty and staff, as well as in the College of Engineering student population.
- In March 2018, Theo Caldwell was named to the new role of assistant dean for Student Inclusion and Diversity, and Kyle Foster was promoted to director of the Diversity Programs Office (DPO).
- In June 2018, Yue Qi was named first associate dean for inclusion and diversity for the College of Engineering.
- Continued support and guidance through Women in Engineering programs, and the CoRe experience for all first-year engineering students.
- Ongoing listening inputs from students, faculty, staff, alumni, and friends, to facilitate open and frank communication within a culture of continuous improvement.
Perhaps most importantly, we are committed to having open communication channels at all levels – up to and including my office. If you have a concern about bias, intimidation, violence or unwelcomed attention, we want you to come forward. It is our job to listen and work to make ours a safe and inclusive campus. In the light of open and honest communication there will be no shadows in which sexual violence or intimidation can hide.
I encourage you to learn more about our vision and goals for the future of the MSU College of Engineering:
- Engineering the Future: A Strategic Plan for Transformative Growth provides an overview of our vision and goals, focused on education, innovation, and entrepreneurship.
- The College of Engineering Strategic Plan articulates our mission, vision, and values, and outlines our five-year strategy for achieving our goals, including those for enhancing inclusion and diversity.
The core values of MSU and the College of Engineering are unwavering. We continue to embrace the “Spartans Will” mindset. We value differences. We remain open to unconventional thinking. We are willing to work harder, push further, and forge true partnerships that lift us all and improve society.
Together we will engineer a healthier, safer, and more sustainable world.
Leo Kempel, Dean of the College of Engineering
