News – College of Arts & Letters

Alum Receives National Award for Her Language Education Advocacy and Leadership

March 27, 2025

Since becoming the first graduate of Michigan State University’s Second Language Studies (SLS) Ph.D. program in 2009, Amy S. Thompson has built an extraordinary career as a researcher, educator, and leader in applied linguistics. Most recently, she was honored with the Association of Language Departments Award for Distinguished Service to the Profession presented by the Modern Language Association (MLA). The…

Faculty / Italian / Michigan Impact / News / Scholarship

MSU’s Italian Program Coordinator Takes On New Role to Shape How Italian is Taught in Michigan

March 25, 2025

Carmen De Lorenzo, Instructor and Coordinator of the Italian Program in the Department of Romance and Classical Studies at Michigan State University, will help shape how Italian is taught and experienced in Michigan as part of her newly appointed role as the Michigan Representative for the Osservatorio della Lingua Italiana nel Mondo. This appointment from the Italian Consulate honors De Lorenzo’s dedication to advancing…

English / Internship / News / Student / Student

Internship Gives Student Experience in Sports Photography

March 24, 2025

Last summer, Sloane Barlow, an English major, worked as a Photography Intern at Jimmy John’s Field in Utica, Michigan. She shared her experience with this internship in a Q&A that originally was published by the Excel Network.

Award / Faculty / Faculty / Linguistics / News / Publication

Professor Receives National Award for Second Language Teaching and Learning Textbook

March 21, 2025

Shawn Loewen, Professor in the Department of Linguistics, Languages, and Cultures at Michigan State University, received a 2025 PROSE Award from the Association of American Publishers (AAP) for his co-authored textbook, A Practical Guide to Second Language Teaching and Learning. The 2025 PROSE Awards recognize the very best professional and scholarly works published in 2024 in the United States in five areas of excellence.

African American and African Studies / Arts MSU / Diversity, Equity and Inclusion / Event / Lansing-East Lansing Impact / News

Boston’s Poet Laureate Selected as 2025 Womxn of Color Initiatives Artist-in-Residence

March 19, 2025

Michigan State University’s Womxn of Color Initiatives (WOCI) has selected Porsha Olayiwola, Poet Laureate for the city of Boston, Massachusetts, as its 2025 Artist-in-Residence. An award-winning poet, performer, educator, and curator, Olayiwola employs Afrofuturism and surrealism to explore historical and contemporary issues within the Black, woman, and queer diasporas. She will be in residence on Michigan State University’s campus March 24-27.

Award / Event / Faculty / Faculty / Faculty Stories / News

Professor Receives César E. Chávez and Dolores Huerta Community Leadership Award

March 18, 2025

Alejandra Márquez Guajardo, Assistant Professor of Spanish in the Department of Romance and Classical Studies at Michigan State University, has been selected to receive the 2025 Plantando Semillas Award, also known as the MSU Faculty of the Year Award, recognizing her dedication and commitment to Latinx students and the Latinx community. Presented each year by MSU’s Office for Institutional Diversity and Inclusion,…

Performance / Production / Student / Theatre / Visual Arts, Arts Administration, and Performing Arts

MSU Theatre Presents Historical Drama About Women Airforce Service Pilots of WWII

March 17, 2025

Michigan State University’s Department of Theatre presents “Decision Height,” a historical drama written by Meredith Dayna Levy about a woman who leaves home to serve her country during World War II as a Women Airforce Service Pilot (WASP). This period piece, with performances scheduled for April 1-5, 2025, at the Studio 60 Theatre in the MSU Auditorium Building, follows a…

Faculty / Faculty / Faculty Stories / International Impact / Linguistics / Michigan Impact / News / Research / Scholarship / U.S. Impact

Applied Linguistics Scholars Among Top 2-Percent of Scientists Worldwide

March 14, 2025

Four professors from the Department of Linguistics, Languages, and Cultures at Michigan State University are among the top 2% of scientists in the world, according to Stanford University’s latest World’s Top 2% Scientists list, which identifies scholars who are top-cited in their respective fields.

Faculty / Faculty / Faculty Stories / News / Publication / Publishing, Editing, and Authorship / Scholarship

Ryan Claytor’s 20-Year Legacy as a Comics Education Trailblazer

March 11, 2025

Ryan Claytor is a trailblazer in comics education whose passion for teaching and talent as an award-winning comics artist and creator is fueled by his love of the expressive medium. Since joining Michigan State University’s Department of Art, Art History, and Design in 2008, Claytor has built a thriving academic and creative comics community at the university, having launched the first comics studio course in MSU’s history and later establishing the interdisciplinary Comic Art and Graphic Novels minor.

AAHD / Internship / News / Student / Student

Studio Art Major Gains Experience as a Ceramics Intern

March 10, 2025

Ashley Romps is a senior Studio Art major at Michigan State University who worked as a Ceramics Intern for Cherry Hill Potter’s Guild in Canton, Michigan, where she developed her own pottery skills while helping to maintain the studio. Romps shared about this experience in a Q&A that originally was published by the Excel Network.