News

Commitment to Equity

In 1968 during a period of significant civil unrest, not unlike today, the MSU Board of Trustees established the unit that would become the MSU Center for Community and Economic Development. Over that 50 year + history, faculty, students and community partners have worked to co-create economic and community development initiatives with disenfranchised communities. These partnerships are even more critical today to reverse and overcome economic and community development efforts driven by explicit and/or implicit white power and privilege that continue to persist in our society. While some progress has been made in the past we have consistently realized much more needs to be done. Our CCED team reaffirms our continuing commitment to our partnership principles and practices of equity and inclusion with communities of color to overcome historic and ongoing economic and community oppression. We look forward to standing with those who seek to create a more racially just and equitable society.

During this unprecedented public health and social justice crisis, we are committed to creating, applying, and disseminating valued knowledge through responsive engagement, strategic partnerships, and collaborative learning. To accomplish this mission, we are devising innovative ways to create sustainable prosperity and an equitable economy in Michigan. We will continue to seek experts through our networks to identify, create and implement innovative and effective strategies to break down barriers of inequity. Where resources are available we will support: Co-Learning research; Co-Implementation Plans; and Student-Led, Faculty-Guided Technical Assistance projects researched by student teams at Michigan universities and colleges. Through these strategic partnerships, CCED will set a course to intentionally build a more inclusive and just state and work to end racism and the inequities in Michigan.

CCED activities and opportunities to help build a more socially just and equitable society:

To access CCED opportunities to make a difference, visit our webpages: