Optional Syllabus Statements: Inclusion

The following are optional Inclusion Statements to include on your syllabus:

• Michigan State University is committed to an inclusive atmosphere where students, faculty, staff, and guests may participate in university life without concerns of discrimination. Diversity is one of MSU’s principal strengths and the university takes its responsibility under federal civil rights laws to prohibit discrimination very seriously. For information about applicable laws and university policy please see the MSU Notice of Non-Discrimination, Anti-Harassment and Non-Retaliation.
• In this class, we will work together to create and maintain a respectful teaching and learning environment where we engage in conversations that challenge our perspectives and understanding.
• Please let me know if you would like me to use a name for you that is not reflected in the university system, or if there is anything else I can do to support your access to this class. To learn more, see the Resource Center for Persons with Disabilities website and the MSU Chosen Name and Pronoun Policy.

Language that should NOT be included in a syllabus

• Language that appears to promote protected identity-based preferences or otherwise violates federal or state civil rights laws
• Language that appears to restrict First Amendment rights
• References to any “policy” that is not a University or unit-level policy
   

Additional Resources for Reference

Religious Observances and Holidays: Michigan State University has long had a policy to permit students, faculty/academic staff, and support staff to observe those holidays set aside by their chosen religious faith.

Links to the policies can be found below:

• Religious Observance Policy (students, faculty, academic staff)
• Support Staff Policy for Observance of Religious Holidays (support staff)

More information about religious holidays and traditions can be found online.

• MSU Religious Observance Calendar and Resources
• Interfaith Calendar
• Center for Spiritual and Ethical Education
• Ramadan at MSU

Equal Opportunity Statement: In compliance with applicable federal and state law, Michigan State University is an equal opportunity institution and maintains affirmative action programs as required for compliance with Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended, and Vietnam Era Veterans' Readjustment Act of 1974, as amended.

Through campus educational offerings, consultations and partnership, the Office for Inclusive Excellence and Impact supports MSU’s fulfillment of compliance requirements and our commitments to operational excellence.

In this role, the office works with campus partners and stakeholders to:

• Provide resources and offer workshops on best practices for ensuring equal employment opportunity;
• Identify additional resources to support institutional compliance; and
• Monitor human resource and personnel activities for compliance with MSU policies

Provisional Land Acknowledgement: This is intended to be read at the beginning of formal events or published in printed material.

Michigan State University occupies the ancestral, traditional and contemporary Lands of the Anishinaabeg – Three Fires Confederacy of Ojibwe, Odawa and Bodéwadmi peoples. The University’s campus resides on the traditional Lands of the Saginaw Band of Chippewa, ceded under coercive or violent circumstances in the 1819 Treaty of Saginaw. Michigan State University is supported through the Land Grant Act, where 10.7 million acres were taken from 245 Tribal nations through the treaty system to fund and establish agricultural colleges. Michigan State University was established on and with 235,193 acres of Anishinaabe Land ceded in the 1819 Treaty of Saginaw and the 1836 Treaty of Washington.

Michigan State University recognizes, supports and advocates for the sovereignty of Anishinaabe Nations from the Great Lakes area, for historic Indigenous communities in Michigan, for Indigenous individuals and communities who live here now, and for those who were forcibly removed from their homelands. By offering this Land Acknowledgement, we affirm Indigenous sovereignty and will work to hold ourselves more accountable to the needs of Indigenous peoples and to the creation of equitable and fair policies for years to come.

Visit MSU’s American Indian and Indigenous Studies page for more information on Land Acknowledgements.