About Us

OCAB Staff

Ayodele Daré

Education Program Coordinator
dareayod@msu.edu
517-884-7317
Antomia Farrell, PhD

Associate Dean of Culture, Access and Belonging
farre201@msu.edu
Cecilia Flores

Office Assistant IV
floresce@msu.edu
517-884-7005
Imelda Galdamez

Culture, Access and Belonging Specialist
galdamez@msu.edu
517-355-0314
Elbony Hawkins

MSU Administrative Business Manager
paytonel@msu.edu
Elizabeth Murray

OCAB Student Intern
murra419@msu.edu
Dr. Emily Sorroche

Associate Director
sorroche@msu.edu
Tasha Warfield

Assistant Director of Undergraduate Diversity
warfiel7@mail.msu.edu

CANR CAB Committee Members

Chair: Cholani Weebadde, Department of Plant Soil and Microbial Sciences – Elected Faculty
Co-Chair: Tasia Kendrick, Department of Animal Science- Appointed
Secretary: Christine Skelly, Department of Animal Science- Elected Faculty
Mohamed El-Gafy, School of Planning Design and Construction- Elected Faculty
Raju Pokharel, Department of Forestry -Newly Elected Faculty
Ehsan Ghane, Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering-Appointed
Emily Merewitz Holm, Department of Plant, Soil and Microbial Sciences- Appointed
Antomia Farrell- Associate Dean and Director for Diversity/ CANR ODEI staff
Emily Sorroche- Associate Director for Diversity/CANR ODEI staff
Imelda Galdamez- MSU Extension Diversity Specialist, CANR Staff member
Tasha Warfield – CANR ODEI staff
Ayodele Dare – CANR ODEI staff
Mary Graebert – CANR Staff member
Jing Zhou- Graduate student
Lauren Kennedy-MSU Extension staff member

Unit DEI Committees

Diversity, equity and inclusion are priorities in the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources (CANR), AgBioResearch and MSU Extension.

Staff & Committee Work

Staff focused on diversity, equity and inclusion support CANR, AgBioResearch and MSU Extension. There is also a central DEI Committee along with different department and unit DEI committees.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the CANR Office of Culture, Access and Belonging worked internally and externally to meet needs, inform and bring opportunities to all.

Programs/ Events

The Office of Culture, Access and Belonging (OCAB) organizes several events during the academic year to encourage networking among students, faculty and staff in the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources (CANR).

The events page shows all sorts of upcoming activities, including for networking.

OCAB Welcome Reception

At the beginning of each fall semester, the Office of Culture, Access and Belonging holds a welcome event in atrium of the Morrill Hall of Agriculture. It's a chance to meet the staff, as well as connect with others in the college.

Content Calendar

November 2024

December 2024

The mission of the Office of Culture, Access and Belonging (OCAB) is that it will serve as a resource that faculty, staff and graduate students within the units of the CANR use to:

Develop intentional efforts to recruit and retain diverse faculty, staff and graduate students
Enhance teaching, research and outreach

To this end, OCAB works with relevant departments to recruit diverse students, faculty, and staff; to support the professional development of members of our community from diverse and historically underserved backgrounds; and to represent and advocate for diverse representation in academic and professional fields in agriculture and natural resources.

Explore the programs, events, and resources we maintain to support our mission.

OCAB First Tuesdays

The Office of Culture Access and Belonging invites the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources community to attend the OCAB First Tuesday Event. These monthly discussions are open to all. First Tuesday events are an opportunity to hear from diverse scholars and professionals from the agriculture and natural resources industry, government and higher education disciplines speak about their own career and life paths, as well as their research, work or opportunities in their fields.

Intercultural Awareness Day

The Intercultural CANR are in person/online events, organized by the Office of Culture, Access and Belonging, build knowledge within the CANR community about the breadth of international work being done, and how the multicultural identities of the researchers are deepening the academic conversation in all of our disciplines.