The Michigan State University Board of Trustees has just elected its first Black woman as its chair.
Rema Vassar, a Democrat who was appointed to the Board in 2020, said the historic election would aid in a “resurgence of collegiality.”
“There’s been, I believe, 124 board members,” said Vassar. “Four were women of color. Three were Black women, two of which are on the board right now, and none of those women have ever been chair.”
Trustee Kelly Tebay said she nominated Vassar as chair because of her strong leadership skills and thinks “she has a lot of transformative ideas for us to be better in our roles as governance and fiduciaries.”
The University’s Board had come under fire for recent scandals that rocked the school in recent years, including an investigation into the administration’s role in the resignation of Sanjay Gupta, the dean of the Broad College of Business. More recently, the University’s former president Samuel Stanley was involved in a Title IX sexual misconduct investigation, leading to his resignation.
But things began to turn around when two Democrats were appointed to the Board, including Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, who replaced Huntington Bank executive Sandy Pierce. The Board currently has a 7-1 Democratic majority.
According to her website, Vassar is an educator, counselor, administrator and community organizer who aspires leaders across the world.
“Specifically, Rema examines issues of parent engagement as they relate to Black families and student achievement, instructional strategies educators employ to honor and incorporate literacies students bring to the classroom, cultural competencies counselors and school counselors acquire through their respective preparatory programs, and the roles of school administrators in community and civic development,” the website reads.
Her biography further states that she “transforms her wealth of research and teaching experiences, her insight from service within communities, and her passion and commitment to see the most vulnerable students succeed into democratic action through quality professional development for fellow educators. She is dedicated to working both nationally and abroad with leaders, organizations, corporations, communities, schools, and individual families and students to advocate for a quality education for all.”
