Faculty Stories

Portrait of a woman wearing glasses, a purple dress, and a colorful necklace.

Ask the Expert: How Does Black Horror Help Us Understand Cultural Anxieties?

October 23, 2023

The genre of horror, and specifically Black horror, has been gaining attention in mainstream media in the last decade. Films by Black writers and directors featuring Black actors — think “ Us” and “Get Out” by writer and director Jordan Peele — are exploring themes of race and gender through a different lens while opening larger dialogues about belonging and…

MSU Associate Dean and Professor Bill Hart-Davidson pictured with a background of shifting blue light.

Faculty / Faculty / Faculty Stories / News / Research / U.S. Impact

Ask the Expert: How Can AI Support Writing and Student Learning?

September 14, 2023

With the start of the school year approaching, educators are wondering how artificial intelligence, or AI, may be used in learning environments, including by students for writing papers. Bill Hart-Davidson has been researching AI since he first came to Michigan State University in 2004 and launched a research center about writing in digital environments.

Close-up portrait of person smiling into camera in front of a brown background.

Faculty / Faculty Stories / Lansing-East Lansing Impact / News

Philosopher and Medical Ethicist Leonard M. Fleck Named University Distinguished Professor

August 9, 2023

Leonard M. Fleck has been named University Distinguished Professor, one of the highest honors bestowed upon faculty members by Michigan State University. Fleck, who is appointed in both the Center for Bioethics and Social Justice in the College of Human Medicine and the Department of Philosophy in the College of Arts & Letters, has been a member of the MSU…

Award / Faculty / Faculty / Faculty Stories / International Impact / Linguistics / News

German Professor Awarded for Outstanding Service to Education Abroad

April 7, 2023

Elizabeth Mittman, Associate Professor of German in the Department of Linguistics, Languages, and Cultures at Michigan State University, is the 2023 recipient of the MSU Award for Outstanding Service to Education Abroad, which recognizes faculty and staff who give their time, energy, and creativity to the development and implementation of education abroad programs that support MSU's commitment to providing students with high-quality international education opportunities.…

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion / Faculty / Faculty / Faculty Stories / Lansing-East Lansing Impact / News

Faculty Receive Excellence in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Awards

February 8, 2023

Four faculty members from the College of Arts & Letters are being honored by the University as recipients of 2022-2023 Excellence in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Awards. These awards, presented by MSU's Office for Institutional Diversity and Inclusion, recognize recipients' exceptional and innovative contributions that advance diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) at Michigan State University through their teaching, research, programming, service,…

English / Faculty / Faculty Stories / News / Publication / U.S. Impact

On the Cusp: English Professor Establishes New Journal

January 25, 2023

Kristin Mahoney, Associate Professor in the Department of English at Michigan State University, has helped create a new journal that focuses on field-defining scholarship on the works, authors, artists, problems, and phenomena that defined the dynamic period from the late 19th century to the early 20th century. The journal, titled Cusp: Late 19th-/Early 20th-Century Cultures, aims to promote interdisciplinarity scholarship on the visual arts, cinema and…

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

Paula Winke Named Inaugural Arts & Letters Professor

January 17, 2023

Paula Winke, Professor in the Department of Linguistics, Languages, and Cultures (LiLaC) at Michigan State University, recently was named the inaugural Arts & Letters Professor recognizing her outstanding intellectual leadership and excellence in teaching. “It is a true honor to be the inaugural Arts & Letters Professor in the College of Arts & Letters,” Winke said. “This award is meaningful…

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion / Faculty / Faculty / Faculty Stories / News / Research / Scholarship

Inaugural Endowed Professor Teaches How to Connect Writing With Culture

November 15, 2022

As the inaugural Karen L. Gillmor Ph.D. Endowed Professor in Professional and Public Writing at Michigan State University, Kristin Arola, an innovative scholar and researcher, is not only teaching students persuasive and effective writing skills she also is showing them how to connect and make sense of their culture through their writing. “To have been selected to serve in this…

Faculty / Faculty / Faculty Stories / Lansing-East Lansing Impact

Professor Brings Black Religion and Spirituality Expertise to Religious Studies Department

October 10, 2022

Associate Professor Tamura Lomax is going back to her roots to the discipline that first inspired her scholarly work. In January 2023, she will begin teaching classes as a faculty member of Michigan State University’s Department of Religious Studies. A scholar, author, and activist, Lomax never left Religious Studies, it’s always been an important part of her life, but now…

Faculty / Faculty Stories / News

Faculty Voice: Understanding Identity in Learning

September 30, 2022

In this Faculty Voice, Ellen McCallum, a Professor in the Department of English and Faculty Fellow at the Center for Gender in Global Context (GenCen), shares how the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer (LGBTQ) and Sexuality Studies program at MSU offers an opportunity to gain a broader historical and social context for understanding personal and collective identities. As Associate Chair of Undergraduate Studies in the Department of…