Michigan State University
EN-8: Employee Orientation

"At MSU, sustainability is ingrained in so many departments on campus. MSU is the nation's pioneer Land Grant School, and the university's stewardship, scholarship, and creative cultivation fully represent sustainable practices. All new employees are required to attend institution orientation, called the Spartan Experience. Every employee is required to attend in this in their first year, and the university Campus Services Director conducts a presentation addressing MSU culture and the commitment of the institution to sustainability and sustainable practices. This presentation specifically addresses the campus culture in the wake of sexual abuse cases in the university, and a respectful and thoughtful environment is requested at MSU at all times. Discussion of MSU's Land Grant legacy and commitment to stewardship is covered, as are the Bolder By Design principles the university operates under, which cover anticipating change, and emphasize the attitude to collaborate, create, explore, and discover. Such priniples help lead the attitudes of employees, and demonstrate the university's effort to create a lasting and sustaining campus. Sustainability is more directly addressed in the presentation through discussion of campus efficiency--from energy used, to recycling, to efficient use of time, to meals wasted, to food donated at MSU annually. Discussion on how each Spartan contributes concludes the sustainability portion of the presentation. All employees are made aware of the inclusiveness of MSU's campus and the university's strict policies in that area. All employees are introduced to MSU through its Bolder By Design principles and the 4Cs: Campus, Community, Curriculum, Culture. Through these words employees can see how MSU cultivates its campus through environmental stewardship and preservation, how the university cultivates a thriving diverse community through inclusive events and interaction between students and the local community, how MSU's academic rigor drives the school and all at MSU are here to further the experience of research and student success. Finally, all are tied together in the culture of the Spartans, demonstrating that MSU is sustainable campust through this collaborative and communicative effort. All of these aspects in orientation together represent the multiple dimensions of sustainability at MSU. https://www.hr.msu.edu/professional-development/courses/customer-service/the-spartan-experience-december.html In addition, other key divisions within MSU carry out specific sustainability training for new employees during orientation. This specific training as a part of onboarding dives even deeper into sustainability and how it directly impacts the operations of these particular divisions in providing exemplary customer service. For example, in IPF, the General Service Level Agreement,  the business procedures manual, and the operational policies and procedures serve as their guidance documents and have varying levels of sustainability built into them. In Residential and Hospitality Services (RHS), all employees are exposed to composting, social sustainability practices and office culture, tour the anaerobic digestor and student organic farm, and learn about waste reduction in their department. RHS calls it's orientation ""Celebrate State,"" and the sustainability Officer for RHS presents at each Celebrate State orientation for its new employees, including students. These units also do employee engagement surveys to gauge understanding of sustainability and its applicability in the workplace. RHS also hosted the HR Module, a training for full time RHS staff to attend and gain sustainability training. This training included a 45 minute tour of the MSU Surplus Store and Recycling Center followed by a hour presentation of sustainable practices and initiatives throughout campus by the RHS Sustainability Officer, Carla Iansiti. In the 2017-2018 academic year, 163 staff members attended this training. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=urxYHoC3Z6c All faculty go through Academic Achievement Network (AAN) training, which is a week-long orientation program. Faculty tour the campus, examining their role in the sustaining the university's goals of graduated acclimated and capable professionals, and faculty are shown the grounds, including the solar carport and preservation practices on campus. https://aan.msu.edu/orientations/new-faculty-and-academic-staff-orientation/"