Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

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MSU and Georgia Tech Receive Mellon Funding for Research Project Combining Afrofuturism, Humanities, and Horticulture

November 5, 2025

Michigan State University has joined the Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech) in The Earthseed Project, a humanities-centered research initiative that uses Afrofuturist literature to connect horticulture, climate resilience, and food sustainability knowledge and practices. The Earthseed Project at Michigan State University uses spaces like the Beal Botanical Garden to bring people together to discuss current topics and develop a…

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Alumni / Diversity, Equity and Inclusion / English / Featured Alumni / Lansing-East Lansing Impact / Michigan Impact / News / Religious Studies

MSU Alum Uses Religious Studies Education as an Advocate for the Developmentally Disabled

October 7, 2025

Michigan State University alum Renee Hall has been an active member in the disability community for more than 20 years, serving in various roles including advocate, direct support professional, service coordinator, counselor, and research specialist. She currently works as the Advisor to the Self-Advocates of Michigan through the Developmental Disabilities Council of Michigan.

Arts MSU / Diversity, Equity and Inclusion / Faculty / Faculty / Faculty Stories / Film Screening / French / Michigan Impact / News / U.S. Impact

Documentary by French Professor Earning Recognition at Film Festivals Worldwide

September 11, 2025

"Chœurs Atlantiques | Tales from the Atlantic Beyond," a documentary produced and directed by Safoi Babana-Hampton, Professor of French and Francophone Studies in the Department of Romance and Classical Studies at Michigan State University, is reaching audiences worldwide through an expanding series of film festival screenings, including a screening in Michigan on Friday, Sept. 12, and at one of the…

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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.

Alumni / Arts MSU / Diversity, Equity and Inclusion / Faculty / Faculty / Faculty Stories / Lansing-East Lansing Impact / Michigan Impact / News / Publication / Publishing, Editing, and Authorship / Research / Theatre

MSU Faculty Member Publishes Book on Creating Theatre With Neurodiverse Audiences in Mind

June 30, 2025

For nearly a decade, Dionne O'Dell has led the Sense-Ability Ensemble at Michigan State University, which develops multisensory theatrical works for audiences often excluded from traditional performance spaces. Dionne O'Dell O’Dell is an Academic Specialist in MSU’s Department of Theatre who specializes in teaching children’s theatre and writing and directing plays for youth and community, and Routledge has now published…

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Alumni / Arts MSU / Diversity, Equity and Inclusion / Excel Network Communities / Featured Alumni / News / Visual Arts, Arts Administration, and Performing Arts

Graduate Voice: How MSU Shaped Sandra Seaton’s Path to the Stage and National Recognition

June 24, 2025

Sandra Seaton is an award-winning playwright and librettist whose acclaimed works have premiered at major venues including Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center, and LA Opera. She is best known for “From the Diary of Sally Hemings,” set to music by Pulitzer Prize-winning composer William Bolcom and her recent Pulitzer-nominated “Dreamland: Tulsa 1921,” a “ploratorio” created with composer Marques L.A. Garrett.…

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Arts MSU / Diversity, Equity and Inclusion / Faculty / Faculty / Faculty Stories / News / Programs / Religious Studies / Scholarship / Visual Arts, Arts Administration, and Performing Arts

Religious Studies Professor to Explore Her Artistic Side as a KBS Artist-in-Residence

June 12, 2025

Blaire Morseau started doing beadwork 20 years ago, first learning how to create on a loom and then teaching herself beaded embroidery. Her beaded creations even helped pay her rent when she was a graduate student at the University of New Mexico. Morseau is now an Assistant Professor in the Department of Religious Studies at Michigan State University and an 1855 Professor of Great Lakes Anishinaabe Knowledge, Spiritualities, and Cultural Practices at MSU.

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion / Faculty / Faculty / News

Faculty Voice: Examining What Is Integral to Jewish American Heritage

May 29, 2025

Yael Aronoff is the Director of the Michael and Elaine Serling Institute for Jewish Studies and Modern Israel, the Michael and Elaine Serling and Friends Chair in Israel Studies, and a Professor of International Relations at James Madison College. She is focused on research and teaching related to Israeli politics, culture, and society, as well as foreign policy. In this faculty voice, original published…

Alt-text: A collage of four headshots of women arranged in a 2x2 grid. Top left: A woman with curly red hair, glasses, and red lipstick, wearing a dark top. Top right: A woman with short curly dark hair, glasses, and a wide smile, wearing colorful beaded earrings. Bottom left: A woman with long brown hair, smiling, wearing a black top. Bottom right: A woman with long straight brown hair, a natural expression, and a light-colored top, standing in front of a neutral background.

Award / Diversity, Equity and Inclusion / English / French / News / Research / Student / Student / Women’s and Gender Studies

Graduate Candidates Receive 2025-26 Dissertation Fellowship Awards

May 20, 2025

Four College of Arts & Letters Ph.D. candidates have been awarded 2025-26 Graduate Dissertation Fellowships by the Center for Gender in Global Context at Michigan State University for their research projects that will include a significant focus on women, gender, or sexuality.These Women’s & Gender Studies Dissertation Fellowships are made possible through the generous funding provided by MSU’s Graduate School.Two…

Award / Diversity, Equity and Inclusion / News / Spanish / Student / Student

Spanish Major Receives 2025 Aguila Award (MSU Student of the Year)

April 9, 2025

Karissa Zárate, a Spanish major with a minor in Chicano/Latino Studies, is a 2025 recipient of the Aguila Award (MSU Student of the Year), which is presented each year by the MSU Commemorative Planning Committee to individuals who have shown courage, dedication, and a commitment to make Michigan State University a better place.