International Impact

A teacher talks with four adult students who are sitting at two rows of tables.

Theatre Professor Leads English Program in Thailand Through the U.S. Department of State

December 3, 2025

Deric McNish, Associate Professor of Theatre at Michigan State University, led a four-week U.S. Department of State English Language Specialist Program at Suan Sunandha Rajabhat University (SSRU) in Bangkok, Thailand. Dr. Sasiporn Phongploenpis, SSRU Assistant Professor and Deputy Dean of the Graduate School, hosted and facilitated the drama-based English education program with McNish during October 2025. McNish brought his expertise…

Three individual portraits are arranged side by side. The person on the left has braided hair, wears glasses, and is dressed in a black jacket with a bright pink scarf. The person in the center is smiling, dressed in a light patterned shirt and blue blazer. The person on the right has long hair, wears glasses, and is dressed in a light top.

Alumni / Faculty / Faculty / Faculty Stories / Grant / International Impact / News / Research

Faculty Awarded Grant to Advance Community-Engaged Research and Women’s Empowerment in Tanzania

November 21, 2025

A Strategic Partnership Grant from MSU’s Center for Gender in Global Context (GenCen) will help strengthen the cross-institutional collaboration between Michigan State University and the University of Dar es Salaam (UDSM), Tanzania, focusing on gender, environment, and community sustainability. The grant supports a collaborative research project that examines the livelihoods of Maasai women in Naitolia, Tanzania, and a community-engaged learning workshop for UDSM faculty interested in women’s empowerment and sustainable community development.

A woman with short platinum-blonde hair holding scissors and doing a ribbon cutting. She is wearing a bright pink top top with a white and black patterned jacket on top. Behind and beside her are people watching her cut the ribbon.

Faculty / Faculty / Faculty Stories / Grant / International Impact / News / Scholarship / WRAC

Trixie Smith Invited to International Conference on Water in Africa for the Second Year

November 18, 2025

Trixie Smith, Professor in the Department of Writing, Rhetoric, and Cultures (WRAC) at Michigan State University, recently was awarded a Strategic Partnership Grant from MSU’s Center for Gender in Global Context to attend the Fifth Annual International Conference on Water in Africa (ICWA), scheduled for March 2026, with additional support from MSU’s College of Arts & Letters and WRAC.

A large, diverse group of faculty, alumni, students, and guests pose together in a bright atrium with green walls during Michigan State University’s Second Language Studies Ph.D. program 20th anniversary celebration. Many wear MSU name badges and SLS-branded shirts.

Alumni / Event / Faculty / Faculty / International Impact / Lansing-East Lansing Impact / Michigan Impact / News / Programs / Research / Scholarship / Student / Student / U.S. Impact

Celebrating 20 Years: Second Language Studies Program Honors Its Past and Looks to the Future

November 11, 2025

While Michigan State University’s Second Language Studies (SLS) Ph.D. program may have started by being in the right place at the right time, the efforts made by its administrators, faculty, alumni, and students have propelled the program into an international powerhouse. During the 20th anniversary celebration held Oct. 17-19, 2025, students, faculty, and alums of the program shared their experiences,…

AAHD / Arts MSU / Exhibition / International Impact / News / Student / Student

Cross-Border Art Project Between MSU and Canadian Students on Display at (SCENE) Metrospace

November 4, 2025

Michigan State University’s Department of Art, Art History, and Design presents “Faces and Traces: A Cross-Border Portrait Project” exhibition, showcasing the collaboration between students from MSU and Ontario College of Art and Design University (OCAD U). The exhibition runs Nov. 7-Dec. 7 at (SCENE) Metrospace, with an opening reception planned for Nov. 7 from 6 to 8 p.m.

A group of five people interact with each other around a circular table. On the table are different photographs. In the background is a graphic projected on the wall that says: “For you, which photo represents…”

Faculty / Grant / International Impact / News / Research / Theatre

U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs Funds English Language Exchange Program at MSU

October 23, 2025

This summer, more than 20 English educators from around the world came to Michigan State University's campus to be immersed in the language and culture while also learning new creative approaches to teaching English in their home countries. MSU was awarded $116,000 from the U.S. Department of State to lead and host the two-week exchange program “Multimodal Approaches to Content-Based…

Ten portraits created by Michigan State University and OCAD University students for the Faces and Traces: A Cross-Border Portrait Project, arranged in two rows of five. Each piece uses a different style and medium to interpret the artist’s partner, from realistic graphite drawings to abstract line work and vibrant mixed media compositions.

AAHD / Arts MSU / Faculty / International Impact / News / Student / Student / Visual Arts, Arts Administration, and Performing Arts

Art Project Brings U.S. and Canadian Students Together

August 13, 2025

When Emma Sambaer, an Art Education student at Michigan State University, was paired with Shiva Mohseni, an OCAD University student from Toronto, for a unique cross-border art project, she noticed how much they had in common despite being separated by an international border.Students from MSU and OCAD U were tasked with creating portraits of each other to capture the likeness…

A group of people stand on wide wooden steps inside a bright, modern building. They are arranged in two rows, with national flags from various African countries positioned between them.

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion / English / Faculty / Faculty / International Impact / News / Programs / Student

Mandela Washington Fellows Make Their Mark at MSU and Beyond

August 8, 2025

For the fourth year, Michigan State University was among 25 educational institutions across the country to provide a leadership institute for the Mandela Washington Fellowship for Young African Leaders. This year, the university welcomed 23 Fellows from 19 African countries for a six-week program in civic engagement that ran from June 19-July 17, 2025.

Faculty / International Impact / Linguistics / News / Research / Russian

Professor of Russian Teaches English in Uzbekistan and Gathers Information for Online Resource

August 7, 2025

Shannon Donnally Quinn, Associate Professor of Russian in the Department of Linguistics, Languages, and Cultures at Michigan State University, traveled to Tashkent, the capital of Uzbekistan, this summer to teach in a collaborative program between the Tashkent Institute of Irrigation and Agricultural Mechanization Engineers (TIIAME) and Michigan State University’s English Language Center. This initiative, titled Professional English for Water Resource Management…

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.

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.