Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

Michigan State University students sit across from participants in blue-and-orange uniforms, talking and working together on a writing activity at classroom tables.

Behind Prison Walls: MSU and Incarcerated Students Learn From Each Other Through Writing

July 24, 2026

Michigan State University students chat among themselves in the cramped waiting room at Parnall Correctional Facility in Jackson, unfazed by the TSA-like security process. They place their shoes and socks in bins, walk through a metal detector enclosed in chain-link fencing, and go through a pat-down before the steel doors lock behind them. Next, they walk across a prison yard…

Jonathan Choti, Associate Professor in Michigan State University’s Department of Linguistics, Languages, and Cultures (left), shakes hands with United States International University-Africa Vice Chancellor Mwenda Ntarangwi (center) while Quin Awuor, Assistant Professor of Applied Linguistics at USIU-Africa (right), presents a Michigan State University College of Arts & Letters gift during the “Documentation and Scholarly Publishing of Kenyan Indigenous Languages” workshop in Nairobi, Kenya.

Alumni / Diversity, Equity and Inclusion / Faculty / Faculty / Faculty Stories / Grant / International Impact / Linguistics / News

International Partnership Aims to Preserve Kenya’s Indigenous Languages

June 25, 2026

Michigan State University’s commitment to language preservation recently extended across continents as Jonathan Choti, Associate Professor in MSU’s Department of Linguistics, Languages, and Cultures, helped convene a linguistics workshop in Kenya aimed at strengthening the documentation, preservation, and scholarly publication of that country’s indigenous languages.

Colorful text on a black background reads "Michigan Pride Juried Exhibition." Details about the event, reception, and juror are displayed below.

Arts MSU / Diversity, Equity and Inclusion / Exhibition / Faculty / Faculty / News / Student

Michigan Pride Juried Exhibition Celebrates LGBTQ+ Artists From Across Michigan

June 11, 2026

Pride takes many forms — celebration, resistance, remembrance, self-discovery — and in the Michigan Pride Juried Exhibition, it takes shape through art. Scheduled for June 11-July 23, 2026, at (SCENE) Metrospace, the Michigan Pride Juried Exhibition, presented in partnership with MSU’s Department of Art, Art History, and Design and the City of East Lansing, celebrates the creativity, diversity, and resilience of LGBTQ+ artists from across Michigan.

Bold text on a black background reads "Michigan State University Juneteenth Commemorative Celebration" in yellow, red, and green.

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

MSU Juneteenth Celebration to Feature Events Led by African American and African Studies Faculty

June 9, 2026

Michigan State University is hosting its sixth annual MSU Juneteenth Commemorative Celebration June 15-19, 2026, bringing together students, faculty, staff, alums and community members. Two faculty members from MSU’s Department of African American and African Studies — LeConté Dill and Liv Furman — are leading events during the weeklong celebration. Juneteenth marks the day enslaved African Americans in Texas learned of their…

A student stands beside a tri-fold educational display about 4-H featuring bilingual English and Spanish information, photos, and the organization’s four-leaf clover emblem. The presentation board includes sections about 4-H history, membership, and programming, displayed on a table indoors.

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion / Lansing-East Lansing Impact / Michigan Impact / News / Spanish / Student / Student

Beyond Words: MSU Students Gain Translation Experience While Serving Communities

June 8, 2026

Translation is about more than converting words from one language to another. It requires cultural understanding, empathy, and an ability to connect people with information that matters. At Michigan State University, students in the College of Arts & Letters are developing those skills through a partnership that pairs hands-on translation experience with meaningful community engagement. Through this partnership between the…

Two silver mannequins display wearable art at the Transgender Day of Visibility Art Showcase. The mannequin on the left wears a flowing cape made of overlapping silver guitar picks or metallic discs. The mannequin on the right wears a colorful pixel-patterned outfit adorned with small charms and fringe details. Artwork and photos are visible on display panels in the background.

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion / Exhibition / News / Student

Art, Identity, and Community Shine at MSU’s Transgender Day of Visibility Showcase

March 31, 2026

Snyder-Phillips Hall was filled with art, music, and conversations for the second annual Transgender Day of Visibility Art Showcase on March 21. The event, which spanned from 1 to 6 p.m., included a community arts showcase, keynote speaker, art workshop with guest artists, awards, and more. The event celebrated Transgender Day of Visibility (TDOV), an internationally recognized holiday that was…

Artist Stacey Robinson and Professor Julian Chambliss sit onstage in conversation at the MSU Museum's Speculative Futures event. Behind them, a projected slide displays Robinson's "Black Kirby" artwork featuring a comic-style illustration. A packed audience watches from tables in the foreground.

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion / English / Event / Faculty / Faculty / Lecture Series / News / Student / Student / WRAC / XA

Student View: An Evening of Afrofuturism at the MSU Museum

March 4, 2026

Aditi Gonuguntala is a fourth-year undergraduate student at Michigan State University majoring in Experience Architecture with a minor in Graphic Design. She also is a Communications Intern in the Office for Inclusive Excellence and Impact and University Communications and Marketing. In this Student View, she writes about the Speculative Futures: Afrofuturism and the Art of Stacey Robinson event hosted by the MSU Museum.

Smiling person with long wavy hair stands with hands on hips in front of a green wall display reading “Michigan State University,” wearing a light-colored lace top and a bright pink skirt.

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion / Humanities-Prelaw / News / Student / Women’s and Gender Studies

Student Reconnects with Anishinaabeg Heritage and Discovers Unlimited Potential at MSU

February 20, 2026

Every Spartan’s path to Michigan State University is different. There are many reasons students find themselves pursuing their future at MSU, but for Kaylin Casper from Los Angeles, California, the reasons were ambition and heritage. “I lived really far away from my Anishinaabeg family,” she said. “As the great-granddaughter of federal Indian Boarding School survivors, coming back to Michigan State was a way for me to be closer to my tribal community to reclaim my cultural knowledge.”

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion / Faculty / Faculty / Faculty Stories / International Impact / News

MSU Theatre Professor Survived a Forgotten War and Is Refusing to Let It Disappear

February 19, 2026

Long before he became a Professor of Theatre Studies and Integrative Humanities at Michigan State University, Philip Effiong Jr. was a child struggling to survive a war the world would largely forget. During the Nigeria-Biafra War, he endured air raids, hunger, and displacement —experiences that left lasting psychological and emotional scars. Decades later, those memories have become the foundation of two memoirs.

A composite image featuring five movie posters arranged in a grid. The top row contains three posters: "Boca Chica," "La Cocina," and "La Singla." The bottom row contains two larger posters: "We Shall Not Be Moved" and "Zafari." The posters span a diverse range of cinematic styles, from high-contrast black-and-white to lush, colorful photography.

Arts MSU / Diversity, Equity and Inclusion / Event / Film Screening / Lansing-East Lansing Impact / Michigan Impact / News / Spanish

Largest Latinx Film Festival in Michigan Returns to MSU Feb. 19-22

February 12, 2026

The MSU Latinx Film Festival (LxFF), the largest Hispanic/Latino/Latin American film festival in Michigan, returns Feb. 19-22 with screenings and events across Michigan State University’s campus and the city of Lansing. A biennial, curated festival, LxFF brings acclaimed independent films from Latin America and the Latinx diaspora to the Midwest, featuring works that are rarely screened in the United States and that invite audiences to engage with the world from new perspectives.