Executive Order (EO) 11246 was issued by President Johnson in 1965 and required federal contractors to engage in affirmative action in employment on the basis of race, sex, color, ethnicity and national origin. On January 21, 2025, EO 14173 rescinded EO 11246 and required federal contractors to cease engaging in affirmative action on these bases. 

All federal contractors, including the university, were required to take affirmative steps to ensure that all persons were considered for hire and other employment actions without regard to race, sex, color, ethnicity or national origin. This included collecting demographic data and using that data to compare the university’s workforce data to market availability data and, when required, create placement goals based on race, sex, color, ethnicity and national origin according to job group. These placement goals did not require selecting candidates based on a protected category. To the contrary, that has long been unlawful, along with making employment decisions of any kind based on a protected category. Instead, these goals informed decisions about the need to do more to attract candidates from a particular protected category and diversify pools of applicants.  

MSU is committed to non-discrimination and equal opportunity. Part of that includes ensuring MSU is casting a wide and inclusive net in its recruiting efforts. MSU will continue to do this. Units should continue to utilize recruiting tools that assist in these efforts.  

In 2006, the Michigan Constitution was amended through a successful ballot initiative (known as Proposal 2) to prohibit affirmative action by public universities, among others, with respect to public contracting, public education and public employment. However, the constitution contains an exception for affirmative action in employment since EO 11246 required compliance tied to federal funding. Now that EO 11246 has been rescinded, affirmative action in employment is prohibited in Michigan for institutions like MSU.