Faculty

A group photo featuring Jonathan Choti, Dean Thomas Stubblefield, Tim Conrad, and Casey McArdle standing together and smiling, with Choti, Conrad, and McArdle holding their respective faculty award plaques.

2026 Faculty Award Winners Recognized for Outstanding Achievement

October 9, 2026

The College of Arts and Letters honored its 2026 Faculty Award at the College of Arts and Letters Faculty and Staff Welcome Reception on Sept. 28 at the Kellogg Hotel and Conference Center. The honorees were recognized for their outstanding leadership, teaching, innovation, mentorship, and community engagement, as well as the significant impact they have made in enhancing curriculum and student experiences.

Side-by-side portraits of a smiling man wearing a blue and white checkered shirt in front of a whiteboard with colorful sticky notes, and a smiling woman with wavy brown hair wearing a black blazer and purple top against a background of green leaves

Award / Faculty / Faculty / Faculty and Staff / News / Staff / WRAC

2026 Outstanding Undergraduate Mentorship Award Recipients Honored

October 8, 2026

The College of Arts and Letters at Michigan State University recently awarded its Outstanding Undergraduate Mentorship Awards, which acknowledge faculty and staff who make exceptional contributions to mentoring students outside the classroom. Recipients are nominated by students, endorsed by their chair or director, and selected by a student committee.

Students gather around a large black-and-white drawing displayed on an outdoor easel during the MSU Drawing Marathon.

Arts MSU / Event / Faculty / Faculty / Lansing-East Lansing Impact / News / Staff / Student / Student / Theatre

Drawing Marathon Brings Eight Hours of Non-Stop Creativity to Campus

September 22, 2026

The Summer Circle Theatre Courtyard will become a hub of creativity as people from across campus and the community come together to draw and create during the annual Drawing Marathon on Wednesday, Sept. 30, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Hosted by MSU’s Department of Art, Art History, and Design, this free event will include hands-on art activities, live models, music, and drawing opportunities for participants of all experience levels.

Illustrated poster for the “Sacred Nine Project: The Billings Pendulum 250,” featuring a colonial-era figure swinging a mallet, with text promoting a performance about revolutionary America.

Arts MSU / Faculty / Faculty / Faculty Stories / Lansing-East Lansing Impact / News / Religious Studies / Research

MSU Professor Brings America’s First Composer to Life in October Musical Performance

September 21, 2026

As the United States continues to celebrate the 250th anniversary of its founding, David Stowe, Professor of Religious Studies and Adjunct Professor of History at Michigan State University, is helping audiences rediscover a figure often overlooked in the story of the American Revolution: composer, teacher, writer, and patriot William Billings. On Sunday, Oct. 4, the public is invited to experience “The…

Students from the Ceramic Arts in Greece education abroad program sit together in front of the stone seating of an ancient Greek theater.

AAHD / Art, Art History, and Design / Arts MSU / Exhibition / Faculty / Faculty / News / Student / Student / Study Abroad / Study Abroad

Education Abroad in Greece Inspires Students’ ‘Lasting Impressions’ Exhibition

September 17, 2026

Inspired by the history, culture, and ceramic traditions of Greece, Michigan State University students who participated in the Ceramic Arts in Greece Education Abroad in Spring 2026 transformed their experiences into works of art that are now on display in the “Lasting Impressions” exhibition at the MSU Union Art Gallery. The exhibition is on view through Saturday, Oct. 3, with a public reception scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 19, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Portrait of Dawn Burns in a colorful shirt, taken outside in golden light.

Faculty / Faculty / News / Student / Student / WRAC

Faculty Voice: Building Generous and Generative Community Through First-Year Writing Program

September 14, 2026

In this Faculty Voice, Dawn Burns, Assistant Professor in the Department of Writing, Rhetoric, and Cultures, shares how MSU’s First-Year Writing Program creates opportunities for students to develop as writers and learners while building connections with one another. Through writing, reflection, and peer review, students learn to value their own experiences and voices while gaining a deeper understanding of those around them.

An angled view of the “Faces and Traces: A Cross-Border Portrait Project” exhibition shows dozens of student-created portraits in a range of artistic styles and media displayed together on a wall.

AAHD / Art, Art History, and Design / Arts MSU / Event / Exhibition / Faculty / Faculty / News / Student / Student

Cross-Border Art Project by MSU and Canadian Students Reaches New Audience at ArtPrize 2026

September 10, 2026

A unique cross-border art project that brought Michigan State University students together with students from Ontario College of Art and Design University (OCAD U) to explore identity, connection, and the boundaries that separate us is now part of ArtPrize 2026, an international art competition and cultural festival that welcomes more than 900,000 visitors to Grand Rapids, Michigan, each year to…

A man speaks into a microphone before a seated audience during the College of Arts & Letters Colloquium 2026, with welcome slides projected behind him.

Arts MSU / Faculty / Faculty / Faculty and Staff / Lansing-East Lansing Impact / News / Philosophy / Programs / Staff / Student / Student

College Begins 2026-27 Academic Year with New Programs, People, and Possibilities

September 3, 2026

A new academic year brings new beginnings and Fall 2026 marks an especially significant moment for Michigan State University’s College of Arts and Letters. Students are returning to a college that has grown in scope, with new academic programs, newly housed majors, and expanded opportunities. The year also brings a new slate of performances, exhibitions, and other creative and academic experiences.

A woman wearing glasses and a colorful patterned jacket smiles while speaking at a podium, with a vibrant geometric light installation projected on the wall behind her.

Community Outreach / Diversity, Equity and Inclusion / Exhibition / Faculty / Faculty / Faculty Stories / Michigan Impact / News / Programs / Research / Scholarship

More than a Residency: SOLHOT 60+ Creates Space for Art and Sisterhood

September 2, 2026

When Sharon Simeon helped create a glass vessel at the Flint Institute of Arts, the other SOLHOT 60+ artists gathered around to watch and support her. They cheered as the hot glass expanded, held their breath when the piece nearly fell, and applauded when it was complete. “The women were so supportive. When it was over, they applauded. There were…

Portrait of a woman with long brown hair and glasses, wearing a sleeveless black top and smiling outdoors with greenery and a building softly blurred in the background.

Digital Humanities / Faculty / Faculty / Faculty Stories / News

Kristen Mapes Brings Years of Experience to Role as Digital Humanities Director

August 27, 2026

Kristen Mapes is leading Digital Humanities in Michigan State University’s College of Arts and Letters as its new Director, following a year as Interim Director. Mapes began her term on July 1, 2026, succeeding Kathleen Fitzpatrick, who served as Director of Digital Humanities from 2017 to 2024.