A $1 million gift from alumna Carol Ann Bennett-Vallès and her husband Jean-Paul Vallès has established the first-ever endowed professor position in art history in the College of Arts & Letters. “We are grateful to Carol Ann and Jean-Paul for a gift that so generously supports the university’s commitment to programmatic growth, enhancement, and success in the arts,” said MSU…
G. “Max” Maxin IV (MFA Design ’12) was scheduled to return to Michigan State University as a guest scenic designer for the Department of Theatre’s production of 9 to 5: The Musical that was slated to open in February 2021, but when the COVID-19 pandemic shuttered theatres and most of the department’s productions, the Dolly Parton musical based on the…
Marta Tienda grew up poor in the inner ring suburbs of Detroit. Her mother died when she was 6, but her father assured her life would be better if she worked hard and finished high school. Tienda listened to her father, an immigrant from Mexico who raised five children in the ‘50s and ‘60s. Alternating between jobs as a factory…
College of Arts & Letters alumna Grace Vivanco is helping lead the fight against COVID-19 at Ascension St. John Hospital in Detroit as one of the nurses working in the hospital’s COVID unit. For Vivanco, who graduated from MSU in 2017 with a BA in Spanish and then earned her BSN from Oakland University’s accelerated nursing program, there is no…
Alumni and retired faculty and staff had the opportunity to attend a virtual event on November 7 where attendees got an insider’s look at the research and education of MSU’s College Arts & Letters while networking with fellow alumni, faculty, and students.
Get Out the Vote: Empowering the Women’s Vote highlights how graphic design has been implemented as a powerful tool in politics with poster designs running parallel to activism and social change for over 100 years. Professors Salchow MacArthur and Skolos discuss with guests the case study of the centennial celebration of the 19th Amendment to catalyze women in design, voting rights, citizenship, community and diversity through poster design. This Conversation is moderated by 2020 MSU alum, Sarah Davis.
Michigan State University is an institution that strives for diversity and inclusion both at home and abroad.
On October 14, 2020 MSU College of Arts & Letters alumni heard from Senta Goertler, Associate Professor of German and Second Language Studies, regarding the newest developments in education abroad. Audiences also received a sneak peek at Prof. Goertler’s books, heard about the impact of participating in education abroad programs, talked about 60 years of the Academic Year in Freiburg program, and discussed nearly 50 years of the Summer in Mayen program.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, French alumnus Jasen Erbeznik volunteered virtually with the Greater Lansing Food Bank to translate documents from English to French for their Garden Project. The Greater Lansing Food Bank (GLFB) is a non-governmental organization committed to guaranteeing healthy food access to everyone in the Greater Lansing Area. In 1982, the GLFB created the Garden Project to create…
Haley Rooney’s MSU education helped her a great deal in preparing for her teaching career and now for the changes in how education is being delivered during the COVID-19 pandemic. Rooney teaches Spanish, grades sixth through eighth, at Williamston Middle School in Williamston, Michigan. She graduated from MSU in 2017 with bachelor’s degrees in Elementary Education, Spanish, and Linguistics and…