With expanded focus, WAGE now located in the MOSAIC Center for Education and Outreach.

Following a departmental reorganization, Women*s Student Services has become part of the newly formed MOSAIC Center for Education and Outreach under the umbrella of the Department of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging. Within this new unit, Women*s Student Services will rebrand to Women and Gender Equity, or WAGE.  

Lesly Morales (they/them) was hired last spring as the inaugural Women and Gender Equity coordinator. While the absorption and name change may raise concerns about the unit’s abilities and capacities, Morales says the change doesn’t lessen the unit’s capacities. In fact, quite the opposite is true.

“Becoming WAGE allows us to focus on increased identities and to do some enhanced programming to ensure students who need these resources will receive them,” Morales says. “So, it’s not that we are subtracting opportunities — we are adding.”

Much of the hallmark programming from the unit will continue — programs like FEMFest and the WILD Conference, for instance, are audience favorites and will continue to make an impact. Along with the existing programming and services, WAGE will also have the opportunity to focus on programming around masculinity.

Previously housed in the Student Services Building as W*SS, WAGE services will now be found in the MOSIAC Center for Outreach and Education on the second floor of the MSU Union. The effort to reimagine and rebrand the MOSAIC space was announced in fall 2024.  

“This new location is a bit more prominent, and we see it as a great opportunity to continue being so accessible,” Morales adds. “Accessibility is important, and we think the change to WAGE really makes our intended efforts more clear moving forward.”  

Director of MOSAIC Center Dr. charlie Liu fully agrees.  

“Being in the MOSAIC Center is very exciting, and we are looking forward to engaging students with signature programming to ensure people feel a sense of belonging here at the university,” says Liu. “The MOSAIC space has a legacy tied to advocacy for multicultural and intersectional identities, and so we are humbled and ready to embark on this next chapter.”  

This new, reimagined MOSAIC Center for Education and Outreach is focused on advancing education and outreach initiatives that build a foundation for transformational relationships to enhance student success at Michigan State University. With the addition of WAGE, the center also features three other key initiatives aimed at enhancing student success: Religious, Spiritual and Secular Identities (RSSI), Global Education and Outreach (GEO), and Unity Coalition efforts. The programs are described below:

• Women and Gender Equity (WAGE): Focused on education and community-building initiatives that advance women and gender equity, inclusivity, and leadership for social change and connection through an intersectional lens. Programs include but are not limited to the topics of men and masculinities, capacity building and leadership development.  
• Religious, Spiritual and Secular Identities (RSSI): Connects members of MSU to worldview communities. Reciprocity between individuals and organizations seek to achieve pluralism by building respect for individual identities, building relationships between individuals and communities across worldview difference, and creating the capacity for opportunities to work for common good.  
• Global Education and Outreach (GEO): Facilitates collaboration, leadership development and coalition-building among diverse student groups advocating for social and global learning (nationally and internationally) and cultural and intersectional understanding.
• Unity Coalition: Provide a collaborative space for promoting conversation and action, as well as allyship and advocacy on intersectional topics relevant to MSU members and the broader community.  

Whether students are interested in global issues, gender equity, exploring their religious, spiritual, secular identities or understanding the intersection of these identities, MOSAIC is dedicated to fostering shared responsibility and integrity across intersectional identities by engaging in courageous storytelling and compassionate dialogue to create meaningful connections at MSU and beyond.

Author: Francisco Velazquez, associate director of communications