Author: <span>curti155</span>

2026 award recipients Avery Riehl (left), Emma Wilkins (center), and Alliah Woodside (right) stand together smiling in front of a projected College of Arts & Letters slide. Riehl wears a black short-sleeve top with long red hair down; Wilkins wears a black blazer over a white top with curly hair and clear-framed glasses; Woodside wears a white ribbed fitted dress and an ornate blue and gold head wrap. A green Department of Religious Studies table is partially visible in the foreground.

Religious Studies Students Honored for Outstanding Achievements

April 23, 2026

The Department of Religious Studies at Michigan State University celebrated undergraduate excellence at its 2026 Undergraduate Research Symposium and Awards Ceremony on April 17, recognizing students whose academic achievements and community commitments reflect the department's core values. Three students — Alliah Woodside, Emma Wilkins, and Avery Riehl — were each presented with awards at the event for their outstanding achievements.

A grid of four headshots of the 2025-2026 Fintz Award recipients. Top left: Laura Yares, smiling, with shoulder-length brown hair and blue earrings, against a yellow background. Top right: Jonathan Choti, smiling, with a navy blazer. Bottom left: Nerli Paredes Ruvalcaba, smiling, with long pink-tinted hair. Bottom right: Aaron Schultz, smiling, with a beard and glasses

Award / Faculty / Faculty / Faculty Stories / Linguistics / News / Philosophy / Religious Studies

Four MSU Faculty Honored with Fintz Award for Teaching Excellence

April 20, 2026

Four College of Arts & Letters faculty have been selected as this year’s recipients of the Fintz Award for Teaching Excellence in the Arts and Humanities in recognition of their exemplary Integrative Arts and Humanities (IAH) instruction. Presented each spring by the Center for Integrative Studies in the Arts and Humanities (CISAH), the Fintz Award, which is student nominated, recognizes outstanding faculty who engage students in arts and humanities ways of knowing while helping them develop critical thinking and effective communication skills.

Two silver mannequins display wearable art at the Transgender Day of Visibility Art Showcase. The mannequin on the left wears a flowing cape made of overlapping silver guitar picks or metallic discs. The mannequin on the right wears a colorful pixel-patterned outfit adorned with small charms and fringe details. Artwork and photos are visible on display panels in the background.

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion / Exhibition / News / Student

Art, Identity, and Community Shine at MSU’s Transgender Day of Visibility Showcase

March 31, 2026

Snyder-Phillips Hall was filled with art, music, and conversations for the second annual Transgender Day of Visibility Art Showcase on March 21. The event, which spanned from 1 to 6 p.m., included a community arts showcase, keynote speaker, art workshop with guest artists, awards, and more. The event celebrated Transgender Day of Visibility (TDOV), an internationally recognized holiday that was…

A woman stands indoors holding an ADDY Award plaque and smiling at the camera. Next to her is a graphic design poster showing a white sea turtle silhouette over a blue plastic-textured background, with circular cutouts resembling plastic six-pack rings. Text at the bottom reads, “Our plastic. Their predator.”

Award / Graphic Design / News / Staff / Student / Student

Graphic Design Students and College Marketing Team Win Top ADDY Awards

March 10, 2026

Four students in Michigan State University’s Graphic Design program received American Advertising (ADDY) Awards at this year’s American Advertising Federation (AAF) Lansing Chapter ceremony, with two of those students earning a Gold ADDY, the highest award an entry can receive within a category, and one taking home the prestigious Judge’s Choice Award.

Three head-and-shoulders portrait photos displayed side by side. From left to right: a person with short dark hair wearing a dark shirt, a person with short dark hair wearing a blazer and collared shirt, and a person with long brown hair and bangs wearing a maroon top. All are facing the camera and smiling.

Faculty / Faculty / Faculty Stories / Grant / International Impact / News / Research / Scholarship

College of Arts & Letters Faculty Help Drive MSU’s Continued Success as a Top Producer of Fulbright Scholars

February 4, 2026

For the 11th time in the last 12 years, Michigan State University has been named a top producer of Fulbright Scholars, ranking among the colleges and universities with the highest number of faculty and administrators selected for the Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program. Eleven scholars from MSU were selected for Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program awards for academic year 2025–2026. Three of those faulty members are in the College of Arts & Letters.

News / Religious Studies / Scholarship / Student / Student

MSU Students Bring Religious Traditions to Life Through Immersive Digital Projects

January 23, 2026

Students in a Religious Studies 101 class at Michigan State University are seeing their coursework reach a public audience. Projects created in the class taught by Nareman Amin, Assistant Professor of Religious Studies, are currently available for display in the 360 Room of the MSU Libraries Digital Scholarship Lab. The immersive presentations draw on materials from the MSU Libraries' Special…

A Polaroid-style photograph of Rachel Helzerman smiling and holding three Criterion Collection films in front of a floor-to-ceiling bookshelf filled with movies.

English / Film Studies / News / Student / Student / Study Abroad / Study Abroad

Toronto International Film Festival: Highlight of Academic Career for Film Studies Major

January 16, 2026

Rachel Helzerman is a Film Studies major from Ypsilanti, Michigan, who attended the 50th Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) in September 2025 as part of the education abroad program offered by the Film Studies Program at Michigan State University. She shares her experience with this program and why it is the highlight of her academic career.

News

Experience Architecture Major Works to Improve Accessibility and User Experience at Internship

January 7, 2026

Avery Kuehl, a sophomore Experience Architecture major from Commerce Township, Michigan, worked as a Digital Accessibility Intern for Michigan State University’s College of Human Medicine. She shared her experience with this internship in a Q&A originally published by the Excel Network.

A group of students sit in rows of chairs, turned toward the camera and smiling during a rehearsal presentation.

Arts MSU / News / Performance / Production / Theatre / Visual Arts, Arts Administration, and Performing Arts

MSU Department of Theatre Confronts Anger and Fear with ‘Othello’ Production

October 22, 2025

The Michigan State University Department of Theatre presents the William Shakespeare tragedy “Othello” Nov. 7-16, 2025, at the Pasant Theatre in the Wharton Center for Performing Arts. Directed by Ji Won Jeon, Assistant Professor in the Department of Theatre, this production asks what happens when fear takes control, not just in one man’s life, but in a divided society.

Head and shoulder photo of a Black woman who is smiling and wearing a black V-kneck shirt with white accent around the v-kneck. She has a nose ring and dreadlocks. There is and orange background and in the top left corner is says "Arts4U."

AAHD / Excel Network / Excel Network Communities / Internship / News / Student

Studio Art Major Gains Experience Interning for Arts4U Program

October 20, 2025

Alisa McCrary, a senior BFA in Studio Art major at Michigan State University who is from Detroit, is gaining experience as an intern for Arts4U, a University Arts and Collections program at MSU. Arts4U hosts various pop-up events such as live musical performances, open mic sessions, and interactive art activities with the goal of creating a welcoming environment for students interested in the arts.