MSU president announces initiatives at investiture as protesters interrupt event

Michigan State University President Kevin Guskiewicz introduced initiatives Sunday at his investiture including a Native American tuition program, an undergraduate scholarship to attract students and a school ethics institute after he was delayed by pro-Palestinian protesters.

Presidential investitures typically are held in a leader’s first year in office to publicly and formally vest them with the authority of the office, according to Michigan State University. Guskiewicz became MSU's 22nd president in March, and his investiture was conducted at 2 p.m. Sunday at the Wharton Center on campus.

Early in his speech, protesters started chanting "Free free Palestine" and "Long live Palestine." The president stopped talking and the protesters continued chanting for a few minutes until they were escorted out of the room by MSU Department of Police and Public Safety officers, according to university spokesperson Emily Guerrant.

Guskiewicz resumed his speech and introduced the initiatives, including a new Native American tuition program and a new fully funded undergraduate scholarship meant to attract talented students. He also announced that Michigan State is creating an ethics institute, which "will advance innovative research and thought leadership in ethical theory," according to MSU's website.

Students with the Hurriya Coalition have been pushing for the university to divest from Israel amid the war between the country and Hamas. About 15-20 students who are part of the coalition joined the protest Sunday, said Michigan State senior Ateeyah Abdul-Wasi.

"We went inside in order to let the board of trustees as well as the president know that we cannot celebrate a president who continues his complicity in genocide through their investments," he said.

Interruption in speech

Jesse Estrada White, an organizer with the Hurriya Coalition, said some students, including himself, picketed outside the Wharton Center before and during the investiture.

Abdul-Wasi said Guskiewicz and some of the members of the board have met with the coalition and have presented them with reasons why the university can't divest from Israel, "instead of coming to us with an open mind and actually hearing students out," he said.

Guests were advised of the university’s policy regarding disruptions to a university-sponsored event, Guerrant said.

"Protesters were given additional warnings by university leadership and chose not to adhere to the policies or warnings, resulting in the escort of several individuals from the hall by officers from MSU’s Department of Police and Public Safety," she said.

New initiatives announced

During his speech, Guskiewicz announced a merit-based undergraduate scholarship named after the university's first president and first lady. He said MSU is trying to "reduce financial roadblocks in the recruitment of the nation's most accomplished students." He said the scholarship will fund the full cost of attendance and will include "an education abroad or other high-impact, experiential learning opportunity."

MSU is creating a program called the Native American Tuition Advantage Program, he said, where students from anywhere in the United States or Canada who meet tribal affiliation criteria will qualify to attend Michigan State University at in-state tuition levels.

They also may qualify for the Spartan Tuition Advantage, a financial aid program that covers up to 18 credits of tuition per semester, according to MSU's website, he said.

Other initiatives and plans include the establishment of the MSU Ethics Institute.

"It will be the only such institute in the state to move beyond its educational aspects to address institutional transformation, calling on all of us to model ethics and live our values in an ethical way," he said.

The institute will coordinate the university-wide educational and research initiatives to "amplify the strengths of existing applied ethics centers and foster the growth of new centers on campus," according to MSU's website. The institute is meant to support the growth of existing initiatives and "foster the development of new college-level or discipline-based endeavors."

Guskiewicz told The Detroit News ahead of his investiture Sunday that MSU does not have immediate plans to examine institutional breakdowns that led to the school's biggest sexual abuse scandal involving ex-sports doctor Larry Nassar beyond the assessments underway, a position that has angered survivors of Nassar's assaults.

The public comments came after MSU released long-held documents about the school's handling of the Nassar scandal, which paved the way for Guskiewicz as MSU's sixth president in the past six years as the scandal forced most of his five predecessors from the helm.