Michigan State University is launching an expanded and reimagined MOSAIC: The Multicultural Unity Center, dedicated to advancing social justice education and fostering leadership for social change through intercultural engagement and outreach initiatives.

A History:  MOSAIC Evolution Means Broadening Impact

Upon years of advocacy towards a dedicated space for students from marginalized backgrounds, the original Multicultural Center space was created on the northeast corner of the MSU Union ground floor in 1999. Still, students felt the space didn’t completely meet their needs as an academic, co-curricular, and social gathering space. Requests for a free-standing multicultural center came in. During the early 2010s, students continued to advocate for a more prominent space that would further meet the needs of various underrepresented student communities. In 2013, the MOSAIC: The Multicultural Unity Center was placed on the second floor of the MSU Union to be more inclusive and offer more multipurpose workspaces. 

After decades of advocacy, a now free-standing Multicultural Center is set to open this winter, allowing the Department of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging the opportunity to rethink how the MOSAIC space in the MSU Union can be utilized for the modern needs of today’s students. Renamed the MOSAIC Center for Education and Outreach, this new, reimagined MOSAIC promotes social justice education, leadership for change and intercultural engagement. Whether students are interested in global issues, gender equity, exploring their religious, spiritual, ethical identities, or understanding the intersection of these identities, MOSAIC offers numerous ways to learn and get involved. Through educational outreach, mentorship and hands-on learning, MOSAIC helps students become leaders and advocates for change on campus and beyond.

Assistant Vice President for Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging for Student Life & Engagement and Assistant Dean for Student Success Initiatives Dr. Genyne Royal explains two key components to the thoughtful reimagining of MOSAIC, saying, “A lot of the work we’ve been doing is about creating space for marginalized communities and providing programming for people to have spaces of support. The other part of the work that is critically important is tying DIEB to education and outreach.” 

The impact of this second focus will be far and wide across MSU’s campus. “If we want to mitigate harm, we can’t just create safe spaces,” adds Royal. “We are excited to help educate the broader Spartan community about how we learn to be better people so we can truly be an inclusive campus.”

As part of its expansion, MOSAIC will integrate new areas of focus within the Department of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging (DEIB), furthering its mission to support Spartans as they navigate the intersections of their identities. In addition, MOSAIC will serve an integral role as a space to educate the broader community in alleviating harm. 

To enhance its impact, the MOSAIC Center for Education and Outreach will integrate three key units: Women and Gender Equity (WAGE), Global Justice Education and Outreach (GJEO), and Religious, Spiritual and Secular Identities (RSSI) under the Office of Education and Outreach, which will be led by Dr. Charles “charlie” Liu. Each unit focuses on advancing social justice and supporting student identities by building cultural understanding and supporting students from all backgrounds to work across differences.

Broadening Focus on Women and Gender Equity  

Women and Gender Equity (WAGE) is committed to gender equity and leadership through initiatives centered on intersectional feminism and masculinities. The unit will provide education initiatives that advance women and gender equity, inclusivity and leadership for social change through an intersectional, feminist and anti-racist lens. The new unit’s formation is an opportunity to expand the impact and scope of the work Women*s Student Services has done since its inception in 2019.

“When we talk about how to keep women safe, we also have to have a conversation about men and masculinity and how we talk about the advocacy of women,” says Royal. “The goal is to broaden the scope of the work in women’s services and reproductive health, broadening the scope of the ways we do the work and broadening the tent of people who are knowledgeable of the conversation and fighting for equity.”

The DEIB team is especially excited, as this is also a return to the MSU Union for women’s services following the closure of the Women’s Lounge some years ago.

Global Justice Education and Outreach Builds Exposure to the World

GJEO fosters collaboration and leadership among diverse student groups advocating for global and social justice while promoting intersectional understanding through education and outreach. 

This unit is key in helping students understand how interconnected everyone is as humans living on this planet, including understanding experiences like poverty and famine and how these are connected throughout the world. GJEO will help Spartans begin to ask and understand the questions of how systems of oppression affect not just those being directly oppressed but everyone.

“We want students to be able to think about their experiences and global justice in ways that if they never leave Michigan, they’ll have an understanding of the experiences of people who they may not look like or may never meet,” explains Royal.  

Drs. Royal and Liu  share their excitement in announcing that, in addition to resources and support systems, MOSAIC will offer education abroad experiences presented at the intersection of identities, something the team hopes students will be equally excited to take advantage of. Associate Director of the Office for Education Abroad Dr. Inge Steglitz recognizes the potential impact of these programs, sharing, “  Living and learning abroad can provide a powerful context for students to appreciate that ‘different’ does not equal ‘bad’ but rather provides opportunities for learning outside the box and considering alternative ways of living and being that are not present in one’s native culture.” She goes on to explain, “Exposure to a new language can open insights into different ways of thinking and seeing the world, including insights into unfamiliar models of social organization and hierarchy.

Education abroad students also often return with their eyes open to the relative nature of power, wealth, poverty, privilege, and oppression. Participating in education abroad can be the catalyst for the development in students of a sense of shared responsibility for finding solutions to global problems such as climate change, food security, social injustice and intolerance of unfamiliar ways of living.”

Religious, Spiritual and Secular Identities Promotes Belonging

RSSI addresses the intersections of identity, spirituality and secularism, creating spaces of belonging and promoting mutual respect among students of diverse belief systems and worldviews. 

Residence Education and Housing Services (REHS) Associate Director for Business Operations Chris Stone-Sewalish highlights the importance of this work to empower students to make meaningful impacts both on and off campus.

“Throughout their journey, our students will no doubt encounter new ideas and challenges that affirm or call into question their deeply held beliefs,” Stone-Sewalish says. “At last count, we had over 120 student organizations identifying as religious, spiritual or nondenominational. It is our responsibility to engage the religious, spiritual and secular identity intersection and provide support to Spartans as they navigate what the relationship to those identities might mean.”

Having partnered with the reimagined MOSAIC, Foglio Endowed Chair of Spirituality and Associate Professor of Religious Studies at Michigan State University Dr. Morgan Shipley believes in the impact that can be made throughout the MSU community and beyond.

"Promoting religious pluralism, spiritual diversity and secular expressions at Michigan State University fosters a climate of understanding and respect, enriching the educational experience and preparing students to thrive in an increasingly interconnected world," Shipley says.

The Importance of Intersectionality

As Director of DEIB Education and Outreach, Liu is deeply committed to the mission of the new interconnected units. 

“The MOSAIC Center for Education and Outreach’'s mission is to advance intersectional social justice education that fosters social change and connection on campus and in the broader community,” Liu says. “We strive to cultivate transformative social and global justice educational opportunities through our WAGE, GJEO and RSSI.” 

Together, these units will help students better understand, explore, engage and connect not just with their own identities or those of their fellow Spartans, but, ideally, with the myriad identities they’ll encounter throughout life, Liu explains.

The discussion of religious, spiritual and secular identities and their intersection with identities of race, gender and beyond is of particular importance to MSU’s diverse community.

As Stone-Sewalish says, “There is no doubt our commitment to the INSPIRES Index will positively impact the lives of our Spartans and open important opportunities for dialogue.”  

The INSPIRES Index is the Interfaith, Spiritual, Religious, and Secular Campus Climate Index, measuring and evaluating each institution’s efforts in creating a welcoming environment for those of different faiths and identities. 

“It is often said that it is impolite to talk about religion,” says Stone-Sewalish. “Our students are having the conversation without us, and if we don’t work together, alongside faculty, to engage them thoughtfully, we will never fully engage their collective humanity. The work of MOSAIC here is critical and cannot be understated. Our students are ready, and so are we.”

A Space for Engaged Learning...in Modern Ways

MOSAIC will also offer a variety of engaged learning opportunities that encourage dialogue, critical thinking and practical skills related to social justice. These experiential learning programs collaborate with departments across campus, enriching the student experience.

At the core of MOSAIC’s mission is a commitment to leadership development, emphasizing the importance of intersectionality of identities through workshops, mentorship opportunities and initiatives for social change. With the focus on education and outreach intersecting, MOSAIC will continue to sponsor the signature initiatives for which innumerable students have enjoyed the impact of since MOSAIC’s initial conception:

WILD Conference consists of workshops, seminars and conferences that empower students to become effective leaders in feminist advocacy and social justice movements. WILD provides resources and guidance on initiating and sustaining impactful social change initiatives and effectively transitioning leadership between generations of student groups.  

The empowHER Leadership Retreat provides incoming fourth- through ninth-grade girls from all different backgrounds with the tools to find confidence, passion and purpose in their lives. EmpowHER girls learn to embrace their strengths and differences, build their self-confidence and participate in service projects demonstrating the importance of giving back to their community.  

Synergy Across Group Experiences (SAGE) aims to enhance undergraduate students’ holistic cocurricular experience that complements/reinforces their inside-the-classroom learning environment — having a meaningful experiential dialogue across groups on the intersectionality of religion, ethnicity and culture is vital for cultivating synergy to work across differences. This initiative takes a small cohort of students to visit local museums, reflect on their experiences through dialogues and partake in service projects to cultivate positive experiences working across difference. 

The Global Perspectives Education Abroad Program in MOSAIC provides undergraduate students with a transformative educational experience focused on global gender and social justice issues. Through a combination of experiential learning, academic study, cultural immersion and community engagement, students gain a deeper understanding of the complexities surrounding gender equality and social justice on a global scale. 

“We know engagement in education abroad enables exposure to new ideas and perspectives and leads to the acquisition of key dispositions like open-mindedness, tolerance for ambiguity and the ability to function constructively in cross-cultural settings,” says Executive Director Office for Education Abroad Dr. Opal Bartzis. “Even more than that, we remain so committed to education abroad because we have seen how participants often learn to place great value on and seek out differences when engaging with others even after the program is over, recognizing that diversity is to be desired, not simply tolerated.

Collaborative steps like this can make for a more just world in small settings as well as globally, and that’s an inspiring vision for our work.”

The HEAL Sexual Health Initiative aims to raise awareness of and encourage scientific research on sexual health and community engagement and discussion. More specifically, it highlights the work of health care, education and advocacy leaders in the Michigan State University (MSU) community and beyond. Beyond specific events, HEAL fosters a connection to reproductive rights and resources for MSU students. 

MOSAIC Fosters a More Inclusive and Empowering Community

Gearing up for the newly expanded MOSAIC, the DEIB team is currently partnering with MSU’s Infrastructure Planning and Facilities on renovations to the space in the MSU Union. The offices will also be reimagined to curate the use of representative art to make the space especially exciting and welcoming to students. 

The MOSAIC Center for Education and Outreach represents a significant step in MSU’'s commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion. By providing dedicated spaces, programming and educational initiatives focused on intersectionality and global perspectives, MOSAIC aims to foster a more inclusive and empowering environment for all students to connect, engage, and thrive at Michigan State University.

Author: Hanah Khan, student communications assistant