The College of Arts & Letters honored its Faculty Award Winners at the 2025 College of Arts & Letters Faculty and Staff Welcome Reception on Sept. 29 at the Kellogg Hotel and Conference Center. These faculty members were recognized for their outstanding leadership, teaching, innovation, and community engagement, as well as the significant impact they have made in enhancing curriculum and student experiences.
Jonathan Choti, Associate Professor of African Languages and Cultures in the Department of Linguistics, Languages, and Cultures at Michigan State University, was elected President of the Kenya Scholars and Studies Association (KESSA), a professional organization that draws members from around the world and that promotes scholarly, scientific, and research work being done in and on Kenya.
“Attached to the Soil,” the Fulbright Scholar portrait project by Peter Glendinning, Professor of Photography in the Department of Art, Art History, and Design at Michigan State University, is a featured exhibition and was the kick-off event for the month-long inaugural Cape Town Photography Festival in South Africa. Consisting of 50 photographic portraits, Glendinning’s “Attached to the Soil” was created over a…
Walk into a classroom infused with music, movement, and visual storytelling, and you’ll find something remarkable: students leaning in, asking questions, connecting ideas — and most importantly, lighting up with curiosity. It’s a vivid contrast to a growing concern in K-12 education across the country. According to a 2023 Gradient Learning report, 80% of teachers are concerned about their students’…
"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…
Michigan State University Assistant Professor Tim Conrad received a 2025 Midwest Book Award in the Fiction – Short Story/Anthology category for his debut short story collection, “The Machine We Trust,” published by Cornerstone Press in April 2024. Conrad teaches creative writing and literature at MSU through the Department of English. The Midwest Book Awards Contest, through the Midwest Independent Publishers…
Leonora Souza Paula, Assistant Professor in the Department of English at Michigan State University, has been named to the 2025-2026 Cohort of Engaged Scholars selected by Campus Compact, a nationally recognized nonprofit that strives to strengthen partnerships between higher education and communities. This yearlong leadership and professional development program is designed to deepen community-engaged scholarship.
Trixie Smith, Professor in the Department of Writing, Rhetoric, and Cultures at Michigan State University, received the 2025-2026 Charles Carpenter Fries Award presented by the Michigan Council of Teachers of English (MCTE). This statewide award honors educators whose distinguished career reflects a lifelong commitment to the teaching of English, to literacy, and to the professional development of teachers. Dr. Trixie…
Michigan State University’s Department of Art, Art History, and Design (AAHD) is shining a spotlight on the creative work of its academic staff, offering the public a look into the lives and practices of the artists who help shape MSU's arts community. Their work, brought together for the “Nexus” exhibition, is now on display through Sunday, Sept. 21, at (SCENE) Metrospace.
In recognition of her outstanding scholarly achievements and their transformational impact, Aline Godfroid, Professor of TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) and Second Language Studies in the Department of Linguistics, Languages, and Cultures at Michigan State University, was named a Red Cedar Distinguished Professor, which is among MSU’s highest faculty awards. Godfroid is the first College of Arts…
