Staff and Faculty Success Progress

Key Initiatives

Fostering wellness

A bicycle rider wearing MSU gear. MSU is supporting community health and well-being by combining 11 departments to create the new University Health and Wellbeing division. The new structure provides better administrative support and a more coordinated and holistic approach to well-being. The units are Center for Survivors, Counseling and Psychiatric Services, Employee Assistance Program, Health4U, Health Promotion, MSU Safe Place, Occupational Health, Resource Center for Persons with Disabilities, Student Health Services (Olin), the Travel Clinic and WorkLife Office.

Workplace culture

A window on an MSU campus building is covered in green paper hearts. MSU is improving student, staff and faculty experiences in regard to relationship violence and sexual misconduct. The results of the 2022 Know More @ MSU Campus Survey show positive trends since the 2019 survey, including a decrease in the prevalence of sexual assault, sexual harassment and workplace incivility; an improvement in most measures of climate and culture; and an increase in overall awareness of various trainings and policies. In addition, the university added Martin Luther King Jr. Day as a university holiday for all employees, implemented two additional days of personal observance time each calendar year for all employees and provided a break for all faculty and staff during the last week of December.

Honorifics, recognition and appreciation

Many glass plaques are displayed on a table. MSU is investing in the employee award nomination process. The university hired two honorifics coordinators to identify and encourage nominations for prestigious or highly prestigious awards as identified by Academic Analytics. In addition to providing support through the nomination process, the coordinators are working with units to establish award committees, encourage faculty membership and involvement in discipline-specific professional organizations and add an awards section to annual reviews. MSU also reviewed peer institution recognition programs involving support staff with a focus on contributions to cross-collaborative teams, innovation and advancing strategic goals.

Attracting talent

An MSU weathervane sits in the snow. MSU is increasing its access to diverse talent by establishing a remote work policy that empowers joint decisions between unit leaders and employees about remote work. These agreements support the needs of the university and employees with both in-state and out-of-state remote work arrangements. Interested applicants now can filter for remote-friendly positions on the MSU careers website.

Faculty career pathways

Students sit at desks with laptops in a classroom. An instructor stands and talks to them. MSU is improving faculty pathways for career progression across all classifications and colleges. In addition, individuals in nontenure track positions have new minimum salaries, independent promotion policies and raises commensurate with position. Academic bylaws across campus are being updated to provide enhanced opportunity and equity among tenured and nontenured faculty.