Faculty

English Professor Honored for Equity, Social Justice, and Community Engagement Work

August 30, 2024

Assistant Professor Leonora Souza Paula is being recognized for her gender equity and social justice work as the 2024 recipient of the Inspiration Award for Community Engagement. This award, which is sponsored by the Center for Gender in Global Context (GenCen), recognizes individuals who have made exceptional global contributions to gender equity and have demonstrated inclusive action and leadership in advancing social justice.

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MSU Researcher Awarded $650K NSF Grant to Expand Educational Opportunities through Linguistics Project

August 29, 2024

Michigan State University Researcher and Assistant Professor of Linguistics Betsy Sneller was awarded $646,385 from the U.S. National Science Foundation, or NSF, to expand educational opportunities for students as part of the MI Diaries linguistics research project. Sneller and Associate Professor of Linguistics Suzanne Evans Wagner launched MI COVID Diaries in April 2020 to answer questions about how language changes…

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Garth Sabo Appointed Director of the Center for Integrative Studies in the Arts and Humanities

July 26, 2024

Garth Sabo, Assistant Professor of Integrative Studies in the Arts and Humanities (IAH), was appointed Director of the Center for Integrative Studies in the Arts and Humanities (CISAH), effective July 1, 2024. The mission of CISAH is to empower students to more deeply reflecton, understand,inquireabout, andtransformthe world around them, and to invite all students into lifelong engagement with the arts and humanities.

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Professor Follows in Father’s Footsteps by Receiving William J. Beal Outstanding Faculty Award

July 15, 2024

In recognition of his scholarly excellence, instruction, and extensive outreach, Mohammad Hassan Khalil, Professor of Religious Studies, Adjunct Professor of Law, and Director of the Muslim Studies Program at Michigan State University, recently was awarded the William J. Beal Outstanding Faculty Award. And remarkably, he is the second person in his family to receive this prestigious honor. “My father was…

Kelly Salchow MacArthur, a two-time Olympic rower and graphic design professor at Michigan State University, rowing in her boat on a body of water with green trees in the background.

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Ask the Expert: How Do the Olympics Connect People, Athletics, and Art?

July 11, 2024

The modern Olympics continue to highlight athletic excellence and a spirit of teamwork even after more than 125 years since their inception in Athens, Greece. Now, every two years, the Olympics — with either the Summer Games or Winter Games — connect people and cultures in peaceful competition. Roughly 10,500 athletes from around the world will compete at the 2024…

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African Languages Professor Receives Two International Studies and Programs Awards

July 10, 2024

Jonathan Choti, Associate Professor of African Languages and Cultures in the Department of Linguistics, Languages, and Cultures at Michigan State University, is a 2024 recipient of two International Studies and Programs Awards, which recognize his dedication to international education and excellence in teaching, research, service, and student mentorship. He received the MSU Award for Outstanding Service to Education Abroad, which…

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Yen-Hwei Lin Recommended as Interim Dean of MSU’s College of Arts & Letters

May 28, 2024

Yen-Hwei Lin has been recommended to serve as Interim Dean of Michigan State University’s College of Arts & Letters, effective June 10. She will assume the role of Interim Dean Designee until the MSU Board of Trustees meeting on Friday, June 28. Pending board approval, Lin will succeed Christopher P. Long, who has served as Dean since July 2015 and has…

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Ask the Expert: How Are Mental Health and Wellness Connected?

May 17, 2024

Mental health has become a part of wellness discussions in schools, workplaces, and health care organizations. In higher education, there has been a greater focus on mental health as one component of wellness that supports students in learning and persisting through to graduation. LeConté Dill, Associate Professor of African American and African Studies at Michigan State University, finds her students…

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Associate Dean Remembered for Personal and Professional Impact at MSU and Beyond 

May 3, 2024

The College of Arts & Letters is mourning the loss of Bill Hart-Davidson, Associate Dean of Research and Graduate Studies and Professor in the Department of Writing, Rhetoric, and Cultures (WRAC). Hart-Davidson, who was beloved both personally and professionally across the College and Michigan State University, passed away suddenly on April 23, 2024. He was 53 years old. 

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Ask the Expert: How Is Spirituality Expanding Beyond Religion?

April 22, 2024

Spirituality is declining in the United States if you focus on religious affiliation, but that isn’t the whole story according to Morgan Shipley, Associate Professor of Religious Studies at Michigan State University. A recent Pew Research Center survey reports that 28% of U.S. adults say they are religiously unaffiliated. By digging a little deeper, Shipley finds the religiously unaffiliated, sometimes…