Faculty Stories

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Esther Belin Joins MSU as the Audrey and John Leslie Endowed Chair in North American Indian and Indigenous Literary Studies

December 2, 2025

A citizen of the Navajo Nation and an acclaimed poet, artist, and educator, Esther Belin joined Michigan State University this fall as the new Audrey and John Leslie Endowed Chair in North American Indian and Indigenous Literary Studies in the Department of English. She is the second scholar to hold this position, following Gordon Henry, who retired in 2023 after…

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

Faculty Awarded Grant to Advance Community-Engaged Research and Women’s Empowerment in Tanzania

November 21, 2025

A Strategic Partnership Grant from MSU’s Center for Gender in Global Context (GenCen) will help strengthen the cross-institutional collaboration between Michigan State University and the University of Dar es Salaam (UDSM), Tanzania, focusing on gender, environment, and community sustainability. The grant supports a collaborative research project that examines the livelihoods of Maasai women in Naitolia, Tanzania, and a community-engaged learning workshop for UDSM faculty interested in women’s empowerment and sustainable community development.

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

Trixie Smith Invited to International Conference on Water in Africa for the Second Year

November 18, 2025

Trixie Smith, Professor in the Department of Writing, Rhetoric, and Cultures (WRAC) at Michigan State University, recently was awarded a Strategic Partnership Grant from MSU’s Center for Gender in Global Context to attend the Fifth Annual International Conference on Water in Africa (ICWA), scheduled for March 2026, with additional support from MSU’s College of Arts & Letters and WRAC.

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AAHD / Alumni / Arts MSU / Faculty / Faculty / Faculty Stories / Lansing-East Lansing Impact / News

Faculty Voice: Art Is What We Need Right Now

November 13, 2025

Meghan Collins is the lead educator for K-12 and family programs at the Eli and Edythe Broad Art Museum at Michigan State University and an Assistant Professor of Art Education in MSU’s Department of Art, Art History, and Design. She also is a proud alum of MSU’s Art Education program and rejoined the university community after teaching art in K-8 public schools in Lansing, Michigan, and Montgomery County, Maryland.

A person with black hair stands smiling on a windswept sand dune overlooking Lake Michigan, wearing a green sweater and backpack. Behind them, rolling dunes, grasses, and a blue sky with scattered clouds.

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion / Faculty / Faculty / Faculty Stories / Grant / Lansing-East Lansing Impact / Michigan Impact / News / Religious Studies / Research / Scholarship

Professor Researching Indigenous Environmental Stewardship with Support from Newberry Fellowship

November 10, 2025

Elan Pochedley, Assistant Professor of Religious Studies and 1855 Professor of Great Lakes Anishinaabe Knowledge, Spiritualities, and Cultural Practices, was awarded the Newberry Consortium in American Indian and Indigenous Studies (NCAIS) long-term faculty fellowship to research how Indigenous peoples’ expressions of environmental stewardship and governance have been practiced, sustained, interrupted, and/or rekindled throughout the central and western Great Lakes region.

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Faculty / Faculty / Faculty Stories / Grant / Lansing-East Lansing Impact / Michigan Impact / News / Religious Studies / Research / U.S. Impact

Religious Studies Professor Part of $3.6 Million NSF Grant to Build First-of-Its-Kind Solar-Agriculture Lab

October 27, 2025

Michigan State University scientists plan to build a first-of-its-kind outdoor lab to study how solar panels placed alongside crops cloud save water, improve soil health, and support ecosystems, all while boosting farmers' bottom line and preserving farm production. The project, led by Earth and Environmental Sciences Assistant Professor Anthony Kendall, is made possible by a five-year $3.6 million National Science Foundation (NSF) grant. Gretel Van Wieren, Professor in the Department of Religious Studies at MSU, is among the senior research personnel on the project.

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Professor Honored with Tamil American Pioneer Award for Excellence in Arts and Entertainment

October 15, 2025

Swarnavel Eswaran, Professor in the Department of English and the School of Journalism at Michigan State University, is the recipient of the 2025 Tamil American Pioneer (TAP) Award for Excellence in Arts and Entertainment. Presented by the Federation of Tamil Sangams of North America (FeTNA), the award recognizes individuals who have made significant contributions to their fields while advancing Tamil culture and heritage.

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New Awards Recognize Exceptional Contributions to Mentoring Undergraduate Students

October 1, 2025

The College of Arts & Letters at Michigan State University created two new awards this year to acknowledge faculty and staff who make exceptional contributions to mentoring students outside the classroom. These two Outstanding Undergraduate Mentorship Awards are nominated by students, endorsed by their chair or director, and selected by a student committee.

Faculty / Faculty / Faculty Stories / Linguistics / News

Professor Jonathan Choti Elected President of the Kenya Scholars and Studies Association

September 25, 2025

Jonathan Choti, Associate Professor of African Languages and Cultures in the Department of Linguistics, Languages, and Cultures at Michigan State University, was elected President of the Kenya Scholars and Studies Association (KESSA), a professional organization that draws members from around the world and that promotes scholarly, scientific, and research work being done in and on Kenya.

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Exhibit by MSU Professor Part of Inaugural Cape Town Photography Festival

September 18, 2025

“Attached to the Soil,” the Fulbright Scholar portrait project by Peter Glendinning, Professor of Photography in the Department of Art, Art History, and Design at Michigan State University, is a featured exhibition and was the kick-off event for the month-long inaugural Cape Town Photography Festival in South Africa. Consisting of 50 photographic portraits, Glendinning’s “Attached to the Soil” was created over a…