CLS Core Faculty wins MSU Excellence in Diversity Award

January 23, 2025

CLS Core Faculty Dr. Delia Fernandez-Jones is part of the collaborative team MSU's Counseling and Psychiatric Services/College of Arts and Letters/Graduate School/ Career Services/Women of Color Initiative that is among this year's recipients of the university's 2024-25 Excellence in Diversity Equity and Inclusion Awards.

Also part of the team are Ashley Bustamante, Meg Moore, Ph.D., Theresa Murphy and Jessica Oyoque Barron.

This initiative supports graduate women of color in academia. Research supports the necessity of concern for women of color, reflected in higher rates of stress, illness and disease, needing resources to address the intersection of their identities and the resulting issues they face. With combined strengths and resources, this collaborative team provides graduate women of color the tools they need to address this intersection of identities. Discussing needs resulted in a workshop series titled Navigating Mental Health and the Job Market: A Graduate Women of Color and Allies Workshop Series and an ongoing emotional/social support space through the In Transition Group Therapy with Counseling and Psychiatric Services, or CAPS. These individuals, mostly women of color, used their time and resources to fill gaps in services and tailored sessions to the women of color’s intersectional identities and obstacles they face.

The collaboration models a public health framework, using existing community-based and departmental resources to address public health needs, particularly for marginalized groups living within a predominantly white institution. It further proves best practices in collaboration across units, staff and faculty members through effective communication and organization using resources. The workshop series intentionally focused on career-based strategies and resources and provided socio-emotional management skills to address graduate-level systems and expectations. All the activities were designed to help graduate students discover possibilities outside academia and feel prepared to navigate the industry and academic job markets. The series was followed up by the In Transition Group Therapy with CAPS, which provides free, weekly mental wellness support through group counseling services.

Each year, Michigan State University recognizes individuals, teams and units for the notable way they have aided in furthering diversity, equity and inclusion in teaching, research, programming, service, community outreach and organizational change. The 2024-25 Excellence in Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Awards Ceremony will be held Feb. 6, from 3 to 5 p.m., at the University Club.