Support Staff

Suits Against the University

The following policy was approved by the Board of Trustees on September 2, 1983:

Michigan State University will support its trustees, officers, faculty, and staff when acting in the performance of assigned duties on behalf of the University. This policy applies to students while engaged in approved academic programs and volunteers who are performing services for the University with prior written approval of the appropriate University official. The University will defend, save harmless, and indemnify such persons against any suit or proceeding, wherever brought, premised upon the fact that he or she is or was a member of the board or an officer, employee, student, or volunteer of the university. The indemnity extends to expenses including attorney fees, judgments, fines, and amounts paid in settlement, actually and reasonably incurred, and with respect to any criminal action or proceeding where such person had no reasonable cause to believe that his or her conduct was unlawful. As a condition of indemnification, the trustee, official, employee, student, or volunteer is required to cooperate fully on a continuous basis with the University attorney and the Office of Risk Management and Insurance.