Lansing-East Lansing Impact

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MSU’s Italian Program Coordinator Takes On New Role to Shape How Italian is Taught in Michigan

March 25, 2025

Carmen De Lorenzo, Instructor and Coordinator of the Italian Program in the Department of Romance and Classical Studies at Michigan State University, will help shape how Italian is taught and experienced in Michigan as part of her newly appointed role as the Michigan Representative for the Osservatorio della Lingua Italiana nel Mondo. This appointment from the Italian Consulate honors De Lorenzo’s dedication to advancing…

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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.

African American and African Studies / Arts MSU / Diversity, Equity and Inclusion / Event / Lansing-East Lansing Impact / News

Boston’s Poet Laureate Selected as 2025 Womxn of Color Initiatives Artist-in-Residence

March 19, 2025

Michigan State University’s Womxn of Color Initiatives (WOCI) has selected Porsha Olayiwola, Poet Laureate for the city of Boston, Massachusetts, as its 2025 Artist-in-Residence. An award-winning poet, performer, educator, and curator, Olayiwola employs Afrofuturism and surrealism to explore historical and contemporary issues within the Black, woman, and queer diasporas. She will be in residence on Michigan State University’s campus March 24-27.

Two women wearing black sit on a theatre stage that is lit in red. One woman is sitting and looking straight ahead. The other woman is more in the background of the left and sitting at an angle. A group of discarded chairs surround both women. Photo by Federico Sigillo.

Arts MSU / English / Faculty / Faculty / Italian / Lansing-East Lansing Impact / Lecture Series / Michigan Impact / News / Performance / Theatre / U.S. Impact

U.S. Premier of Italian Play Addressing Themes of Sexual Violence Coming to MSU, Other Universities

February 24, 2025

In the U.S. debut, acclaimed Italian playwright, actor, and director Giuliana Musso will explore the traumatic effects of silence when sexual abuse occurs at home through her play “Dentro (Inside): A True Story, If You Think So.” The play is a dramatized account of real-life conversations, Musso’s research on the topic, and her own attempt to bring awareness to the…

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion / Event / Lansing-East Lansing Impact / News

Public Invited to Douglass Day Transcribe-a-thon to Celebrate Life and Legacy of Frederick Douglass

February 3, 2025

This month, the Michigan State University Libraries, MSU College of Arts & Letters, and MSU College of Law are partnering to celebrate the birthday of renowned 19th century abolitionist Frederick Douglass with an event focused on helping to transcribe the Library of Congress’ African American Perspectives Collection. To commemorate the life and legacy of Douglass, who is widely considered the…

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

College of Arts & Letters Faculty Awarded for Excellence in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

January 29, 2025

Three faculty members from the College of Arts & Letters are being honored by the university as recipients of 2024-25 Excellence in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Awards. These awards, presented by MSU's Office for Institutional Diversity and Inclusion, recognize exceptional and innovative contributions that advance diversity, equity, and inclusion at Michigan State University through their teaching, research, programming, service, community…

A picture of a woman with short, brown hair, and pink glasses. She wears a burnt orange sweat and grey scarf embroidered with red floral patters. In the background, there is shrubbery and a brick wall.

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

English Professor Emerita Celebrates Retirement with Endowment Supporting Early Modern Texts

January 16, 2025

In her 25 years at MSU, Jyotsna Singh, Professor Emerita in the Department of English, made certain her students recognized the importance of primary source materials in their studies of English literature. As she celebrated her retirement, she unveiled the Jyotsna G. Singh Endowment in Early Modern Studies: Race, Empire, and Global Connections, aimed at enriching the MSU Libraries’ collection of…

Read more about the article African American and African Studies Faculty Leaders to Deliver Keynote Address at Inaugural MLK Student Symposium

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

African American and African Studies Faculty Leaders to Deliver Keynote Address at Inaugural MLK Student Symposium

January 15, 2025

The inaugural MLK Student Symposium that is set to take place on Saturday, Jan. 18, at the MSU Union will give students the chance to discuss the challenges faced within systemic barriers, to share their experiences, express their identities, and promote inspiration for change. The keynote speakers for this event are Department of African American and African Studies faculty leaders Ruth Nicole Brown and LeConté Dill.

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

Exhibit Invites Public to Participate in Creation of Community Art Projects

January 14, 2025

Reclaiming Space, the current exhibit at the MSU Union Art Gallery, calls upon the community to come together to reflect, respond, and heal through artmaking. Now through Saturday, Feb. 15, the public is invited to add their personal touch and creativity to the murals and sculptures that make up this exhibition, and as the show progresses, the artwork will evolve with each new day.

Two students with laptops sit on a cozy green couch in the MSU Writers' Studio on campus. In the background is a wallpapered wall showing trees and birds and two bookcases with books.

English / Faculty / Faculty / Lansing-East Lansing Impact / News / Student / Student

New Writers’ Studio on Campus Gives MSU Students Space for Creative Work and Community

December 11, 2024

Michigan State University Associate Professor of English Divya Victor had long noticed that writing students didn’t have a space on campus where they could feel comfortable and centered to fully concentrate on their thoughts and words. “Writing is a somatic practice, which means it integrates the body, the mind, society, and the environment we live and work within,” Victor said.…