Faculty Stories

Professors Awarded for Outstanding Innovation in Less Commonly Taught Languages Instruction

April 28, 2025

The team of Shannon Donnally Quinn, Associate Professor of Russian in the Department of Linguistics, Languages, and Cultures at Michigan State University, and Anna Tumarkin, Russian Language Program Director at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, have received a 2025 Masters in Foreign Language Teaching (MAFLT) Less Commonly Taught Languages (LCTL) Innovation Award presented by the National Less Commonly Taught Languages Resource Center…

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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…

A side-by-side portrait of two men. On the left, a man with long, wavy gray hair and a floral button-up shirt is smiling against a neutral background. On the right, a man with short black hair, a beard, and a floral button-up shirt is also smiling against a plain white background.

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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.

A close-up portrait of a woman with long dark hair and glasses, smiling gently. She is standing in front of a blurred background featuring an ornate architectural design with golden hues.

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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,…

A composite image featuring four headshots of individuals side by side. From left to right: a man in a suit and tie with glasses, a man with shoulder-length wavy gray hair in a floral-patterned shirt, a woman with long brown hair wearing a white shirt and a blue sweater, and a woman with short brown hair wearing green-framed glasses and a gray coat. They are all smiling.

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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.

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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.

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Faculty Invited to Teach at International Winter School for Language Testing Research

February 20, 2025

Assistant Professor Koen Van Gorp and Professor Paula Winke from the Department of Linguistics, Languages, and Cultures (LiLaC) at Michigan State University were two of five international professors invited by the European Association of Language Testing and Assessment and the Language Testing Research Group Innsbruck to teach at a Winter School for language testing research that was held in the…

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Faculty Voice: I’m a Maker and a Storyteller

February 14, 2025

Teresa Dunn is a Mexican American artist raised in rural southern Illinois. Her identity life and art are influenced by her racial and cultural heritages and the complexities of being a brown woman in the Midwest. She's a Professor of Painting and Drawing in the Department of Art, Art History, and Design in the College of Arts & Letters. Dunn wrote the…

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Lecture Series Showcases Strong Connection Between Religious Studies and MSU Libraries’ Special Collections

January 29, 2025

Religious Studies faculty will discuss how the MSU Libraries' Special Collections informs their teaching and research as part of the Collecting Religion Lecture Series offered this semester. Hosted by MSU Libraries and organized in collaboration with the Department of Religious Studies, the series will highlight how rare and historical primary sources bring Religious Studies to life. The series kicks off…

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College of Arts & Letters Faculty Awarded for Excellence in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

January 29, 2025

Three faculty members from the College of Arts & Letters are being honored by the university as recipients of 2024-25 Excellence in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Awards. These awards, presented by MSU's Office for Institutional Diversity and Inclusion, recognize exceptional and innovative contributions that advance diversity, equity, and inclusion at Michigan State University through their teaching, research, programming, service, community…