Equity and Inclusion

Commitment

My name is Craig Ogilvie and I serve graduate students as Graduate Dean. This is my commitment to you.

As a leader at a predominantly White institution, I commit to take action to improve the experiences all our graduate students have, especially those that have social identities that are under-represented or marginalized in higher education.

I commit to creating an environment where all the qualities you bring to your graduate studies can shine. Where you can bring your whole self to your scholarship, including your different perspectives and how these are all necessary to make progress on the challenges and opportunities facing our society.

There is a very strong connection between academic freedom and an environment where diverse graduate students can thrive and feel valued. Academic freedom for graduate students means that you can investigate the questions important to you, speak freely, and interrogate thorny issues using an epistemology aligned culturally and appropriate for your scholarship. While these are common rights across academia, a special part of graduate education is that you receive feedback and criticism from faculty mentors so that your ideas can be strengthened.

To create such an environment, I

• Encourage collaborative work with your peers, including those in different fields.
• Support communities of peers so that you can connect with others for friendship and support.
• Eliminate policies and practices that act as barriers to your success, especially those that have a differential impact on historically underrepresented graduate students.
• Provide resources and services to help you complete your degree in a timely manner.
• Empower you to determine when you will defend your thesis or dissertation.
• Advocate for graduate students as being the best students at MSU.

I am committed to this work.

Your Graduate Dean

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