Lansing-East Lansing Impact

$3M Mellon-Funded ‘Creativity in the Time of COVID’ Has Local and Global Impact

September 27, 2024

When the world went into lockdown in the face of COVID-19 and while adapting to social distancing, zoom, and masks required, many, in their isolation, turned to art and creative expression as a way to cope with the stress, grief, loneliness, and loss brought on by the pandemic. This artistic exploration, born from confinement and fueled by emotions of uncertainty…

Arts MSU / Lansing-East Lansing Impact / News / Performance / Production / Programs / Student / Theatre / Visual Arts, Arts Administration, and Performing Arts

Summer Circle Theatre Announces New Artistic Director and FREE Shows for 62nd Season

May 21, 2024

The Michigan State University Department of Theatre’s 2024 Summer Circle Theatre (SCT) is preparing for its 62nd season offering FREE outdoor performances for all ages. Shows run June 6-23 at the courtyard between the Auditorium Building and Kresge Art Center on MSU’s campus. This season, Summer Circle will open three productions as well as pre- and post-show performances including music, dance, improv, and clown acts.

African American and African Studies / Diversity, Equity and Inclusion / Lansing-East Lansing Impact / News / Student

First MSU Students to Earn BA Degrees in African American and African Studies Graduate This Spring

April 19, 2024

Michigan State University’s Spring 2024 commencement will see the very first students to graduate with a bachelor’s degree in African American and African Studies. As the first graduates of this program, Morgan Braswell, Jhala Martin, and Mike Martin mark a significant milestone in the history of the Department of African American and African Studies (AAAS), the history of the College…

African American and African Studies / Arts MSU / Diversity, Equity and Inclusion / Exhibition / Faculty / Lansing-East Lansing Impact / News / Research / Scholarship

Afrofuturism & Quilting Exhibition: Exploring Connections Within Teaching, Learning, and Quilt Praxis

April 17, 2024

Stitch by stitch, quilt making has played an integral role in African American history. But the storytelling embedded in the quilts themselves is more than mere tradition. In the Afrofuturism & Quilts: Materializing Black Futures & Black Womxn’s Quilt Legacies Exhibition now on display through Friday, July 19, at the MSU Union Art Gallery, local and national quilt artists and quilt scholars explore embodied and theoretical connections between Afrofuturism and quilt making.

AAHD / Arts MSU / Exhibition / Lansing-East Lansing Impact / News / Student / Student / Visual Arts, Arts Administration, and Performing Arts

Work of MFA Candidates on Display and Celebrated at MSU Broad Art Museum

April 3, 2024

The 2024 Master of Fine Arts Exhibition, which runs through Sunday, May 26, at Michigan State University's Broad Art Museum, is hosting a reception on Saturday, April 6, from 6 to 8 p.m. to celebrate the creative and scholarly research of MSU’s Department of Art, Art History, and Design MFA candidates whose work is featured in this year’s exhibition.

A woman in a black shirt with black glasses and necklace and blonde hair.

Arts MSU / Diversity, Equity and Inclusion / Exhibition / Faculty / Faculty / Lansing-East Lansing Impact / News / Visual Arts, Arts Administration, and Performing Arts

Professor Honored for Community-Engaged Creative Activity

March 26, 2024

For her outstanding work producing an equity-based art exhibition featuring more than 200 pieces of work from around the world, Nancy DeJoy, Associate Professor in the Department of Writing, Rhetoric, and Cultures at Michigan State University, is this year’s recipient of the Distinguished Partnership Award for Community-Engaged Creative Activity presented by MSU’s Office of University Outreach and Engagement.The exhibition, titled…

AAHD / Award / Design, Technology, and Media / Lansing-East Lansing Impact / News / Staff / Student / Student

Work by Students and Staff Recognized with ADDY Awards

March 15, 2024

At this year’s American Advertising (ADDY) Awards celebration for the American Advertising Federation (AAF) Lansing chapter, students in MSU’s Graphic Design program took home two Gold, three Silver, and two Bronze ADDY Awards. In the professional competition, MSU’s College of Arts & Letters Marketing Office received a Mosaic Award as well as one Gold, two Silver, and two Bronze ADDY Awards.

A picture of two people. On the left is a woman in a black sweatshirt and on the right is a man in a grey sweatshirt.

Alumni / Donor / English / Fundraising / Lansing-East Lansing Impact / News

$1.638 Million Gift Establishes Two Scholarships and Supports English Department

March 11, 2024

Although they never had kids of their own, Gregory Shafer and Bernadette Gongora helped raise 39 foster children and soon will have a positive impact on the lives of countless students at Michigan State University for generations to come thanks to the $1.638 million gift they made to MSU’s College of Arts & Letters. Married for 30 years, Shafer and Gongora say…

Arts MSU / Diversity, Equity and Inclusion / Lansing-East Lansing Impact / News / Performance / Production / Student / Student / Theatre / Visual Arts, Arts Administration, and Performing Arts

MSU Theatre Presents ‘What if Wilhelmina,’ a Sensory-Friendly, Interactive Musical

February 20, 2024

The public is invited to come experience What If Wilhelmina, the latest production of the Michigan State University Department of Theatre’s Sense-Ability Ensemble, which creates multi-sensory, interactive theatrical performances specifically designed for audiences that are neurodiverse. Nine performances of this production are scheduled March 8-17 at the Arena Theatre in the MSU Auditorium Building.

Photo of woman in a strange position with technology strapped to her joints. In front of her a green animated character in following her same movement.

Faculty / Faculty / Lansing-East Lansing Impact / News / Programs / Theatre

Faculty Find Creative Ways to Integrate Technology in the Classroom to Enhance Student Experience

February 7, 2024

Innovation by Michigan State University faculty isn’t limited to their research. Faculty continuously look for ways to engage students in their own instruction and prepare them for opportunities to stand out following graduation. With support from the Center for Teaching and Learning Innovation Catalyst Innovation Program, faculty can receive funding to purchase the latest technology and software to weave into their…