Faculty Stories

MSU Faculty Member Publishes Book on Creating Theatre With Neurodiverse Audiences in Mind

June 30, 2025

For nearly a decade, Dionne O'Dell has led the Sense-Ability Ensemble at Michigan State University, which develops multisensory theatrical works for audiences often excluded from traditional performance spaces. Dionne O'Dell O’Dell is an Academic Specialist in MSU’s Department of Theatre who specializes in teaching children’s theatre and writing and directing plays for youth and community, and Routledge has now published…

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English / Faculty / Faculty / Faculty Stories / News

Kathleen Fitzpatrick Named a University Distinguished Professor

June 25, 2025

Kathleen Fitzpatrick, a nationally recognized scholar of digital humanities, Professor in the Department of English, and recently appointed Associate Dean for Research and Graduate Studies for the College of Arts & Letters, is now a University Distinguished Professor, which is among the highest honors bestowed upon faculty by Michigan State University. Fitzpatrick is among the 10 MSU faculty members named…

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Arts MSU / Diversity, Equity and Inclusion / Faculty / Faculty / Faculty Stories / News / Programs / Religious Studies / Scholarship / Visual Arts, Arts Administration, and Performing Arts

Religious Studies Professor to Explore Her Artistic Side as a KBS Artist-in-Residence

June 12, 2025

Blaire Morseau started doing beadwork 20 years ago, first learning how to create on a loom and then teaching herself beaded embroidery. Her beaded creations even helped pay her rent when she was a graduate student at the University of New Mexico. Morseau is now an Assistant Professor in the Department of Religious Studies at Michigan State University and an 1855 Professor of Great Lakes Anishinaabe Knowledge, Spiritualities, and Cultural Practices at MSU.

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Faculty / Faculty / Faculty Stories / News / Research / Scholarship

Kathleen Fitzpatrick Named New Associate Dean for Research and Graduate Studies

May 27, 2025

Kathleen Fitzpatrick has been appointed Associate Dean for Research and Graduate Studies for Michigan State University's College of Arts & Letters, effective July 1, 2025, following a year serving in the interim role. A nationally recognized scholar of digital humanities, Fitzpatrick is uniquely positioned to guide the college's research and graduate programs, having spent her career creating open-source tools for…

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Alumni / Faculty / Faculty / Faculty Stories / Linguistics / News / Scholarship

African Languages Professor Awarded 2025-26 Walter and Pauline Adams Academy Fellowship

May 23, 2025

Jonathan Choti, Associate Professor of African Languages and Cultures in the Department of Linguistics, Languages, and Cultures at Michigan State University, has been awarded a 2025-26 Walter and Pauline Adams Academy Fellowship.This annual MSU Office of Faculty and Academic Staff Development program brings together a cross-disciplinary group of faculty and academic staff for a year-long fellowship focused on advanced topics…

Faculty / Faculty / Faculty Stories / News / Publishing, Editing, and Authorship / Russian

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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Faculty / Faculty / Faculty Stories / Italian / Lansing-East Lansing Impact / 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…

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Award / Faculty / Faculty / Faculty Stories / International Impact / Lansing-East Lansing Impact / Linguistics / Michigan Impact / News / Publication / Publishing, Editing, and Authorship / U.S. Impact

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.

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Award / Diversity, Equity and Inclusion / Event / Faculty / Faculty / Faculty Stories / News / Spanish

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,…

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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.