Staff Reports
Michigan State University just had a costly secret pulled into the light. A public‑records (FOIA) release shows five employees in MSU’s Office for Inclusive Excellence and Impact together pull down nearly $880,000 a year in salary. For parents paying tuition and taxpayers footing state university bills, that number should sting and raise a few hard questions.
The payroll shock: who’s earning what
The FOIA documents name the five and list precise salary totals: Vice President and Chief Inclusion Officer Jabbar R. Bennett at about $383,721; Diversity Research Network Director Deborah J. Johnson, Ph.D., at about $239,309; Outreach and Engagement Manager Florensio Hernandez at about $91,710; Assistant Director Micaela Flores at about $89,304; and Staff Assistant Lisa Fuentes at about $75,150. Add them up and the tab is $879,194.81. Those are public payroll figures, not rumors or opinion.
What the records don’t tell us — and what should worry you
Payroll numbers alone do not prove misuse, but they do demand answers. The FOIA release does not clearly show whether these salaries come from state tuition and appropriations, restricted grants, or auxiliary funds. It also doesn’t explain job duties, time allocation, or whether some pay covers work outside DEI. In plain English: the public sees the price tag but not the receipt. Transparency isn’t optional when taxpayers and students are paying the bill.
Why taxpayers and students should care
Higher education is angry at reality: tuition keeps rising while administrators keep finding new ways to spend. DEI — diversity, equity, inclusion — programs have been rebranded and reshuffled since federal directives in 2025 put them under scrutiny, but rebranding doesn’t make expensive personnel costs vanish. MSU’s response was the usual university line — the office “advances MSU’s mission” and pay reflects job responsibilities. Fine. Prove it. Show the contracts, funding sources, and measurable results, and stop hiding behind marketing language.
What needs to happen next
Start with simple steps: MSU should release the contracts and funding sources for these positions. The Board of Trustees should explain salary decisions and whether these roles were approved with state dollars or external grants. The current administration should press for audits of federal or state funds spent on DEI work. And taxpayers and parents need a straight answer: is this serving students’ education or an ideological industry that bloomed on campus budgets?
Michigan State owes the public more than a PR paragraph. This FOIA is a red flag. Fix the accounting, show the paperwork, and stop making students and taxpayers subsidize cushy administrative fiefdoms dressed up as “inclusion.”
