The Inclusive Campus Initiative (ICI) Leadership Advisory Team has received a 2026 Inclusive Excellence Award in the Team, Organization or Unit category, recognizing the group’s efforts to advance inclusion, belonging and collaboration across Michigan State University.
The Inclusive Excellence Awards recognize exceptional and innovative contributions from students, faculty and staff in areas such as teaching, research, programming, service, community outreach and organizational change. The ICI Leadership Advisory Team was formally recognized during the Inclusive Excellence Celebration on Friday, April 3, at the Kellogg Hotel & Conference Center.
Created in 2021 following an APIDA anti-Asian violence virtual town hall, the Inclusive Campus Initiative was designed to create opportunities for connection and campus-wide collaboration while removing barriers between students, faculty, staff and administrators.
“The Inclusive Campus Initiative is a group of staff and faculty across campus who are mobilizing in efforts to address different needs of students and staff when it comes to inclusion and belonging,” says Matea Čaluk, Ed.D., chief of staff of Residence Education and Housing Services (REHS) and member of the ICI Leadership Advisory Team.
According to ICI Project Director Meaghan Kozar, Ph.D., the initiative has evolved significantly since its founding.
“The Inclusive Campus Initiative inspires campus-wide collaborations that advance inclusion across the university,” Kozar says. “Through educational programming, communication platforms, and the creation of spaces that encourage connection and belonging, this work invites all participants to play a vital role in building a more inclusive campus at MSU.”
Creating an Inclusive Campus Ecosystem
Over time, the initiative shifted from direct student-facing support toward helping equip staff and campus partners with the tools and resources needed to support students more effectively.
“By increasing staff awareness of available resources, we aim to ensure they feel better prepared to support students,” Kozar says.
What began as a summit focused on amplifying student voices has since expanded into a campus-wide ecosystem of collaboration. The initiative now includes a Leadership Advisory Team composed of representatives from units across the university who work together to identify concerns, connect students with resources and support emerging campus needs.
“We’ve created this group of folks across campus from different units to make sure that we are bringing to the table the various issues or problems facing students and organizing to solve them together,” Čaluk says.
The ICI also created a virtual Microsoft Teams community that now connects more than 120 campus partners across units and colleges, allowing faculty and staff to share resources, events and support in real time.
“Now we’ve made the campus almost a little bit smaller for ourselves because we can connect so quickly with one another,” Čaluk says.
The work is especially meaningful because it helps remove barriers that students may face when trying to navigate a large university.
“I was a first-generation student, not really knowing campus or what to expect or how to find resources,” Čaluk says. “Now as a staff member, I get to remove those barriers for students.”
Educational Programming and Campus Impact
Over the past four years, ICI has hosted numerous educational and community-building events, including virtual learning forums, student summits, campus partner summits, community breakfasts and conferences centered on topics such as anti-discrimination policy, accessibility, open expression, mental health and community healing.
The initiative has also served as a connector across campus, helping departments and organizations collaborate rather than duplicate efforts.
“What the ICI does is bring all of these groups together to share timely information across,” Čaluk says. “We can support each other or collaborate with each other, to maximize resources.”
One of the initiative’s signature programs is the Inclusive Impact Conference, which has expanded from an internal MSU summit into a regional event open to the broader community.
“As illustrated by attendees, the Inclusive Impact Conference brings healing, education and community together in one place,” the nomination letter states. “It gives space to just be — an important pillar of inclusion.”
Čaluk described the conference as more than a traditional professional development event.
“It’s not a conference that people come to, attend sessions and go home,” Čaluk says. “It’s a whole experience that they have that’s really rejuvenating for many.”
Looking Ahead
This summer, the ICI will host its third annual Inclusive Impact Conference while also conducting a five-year review to help shape the initiative’s future direction. The work is ultimately about ensuring every Spartan feels welcomed and supported.
“We want to make sure the students who are here and the staff who are here feel like this is our community together,” Čaluk says. “We want to continue to amplify and address the needs to make sure that we have a community that’s welcoming.”
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ICI’s third annual Inclusive Impact Conference takes place Monday, Aug. 3, 8:30 a.m.–5 p.m. Register here.
The ICI Leadership Advisory Team includes Kozar as project director and Vennie Gore as executive sponsor, along with advisory team members Matea Čaluk, Ed.D., Anjam Chaudhary, Ph.D., Danielle Flores Lopez, Ph.D., Juan Flores-Soto, Jun Fu, Ph.D., Katusha Galitzine, Florensio Hernandez, Swapna Hingwe, D.O., Charles Liu, Ph.D., and Brenda Nelson, Ph.D.
Author: Daniela Del Castillo