Fritzsche Appointed Associate Dean for Faculty and Administration

Sonja Fritzsche, Professor of German and Chair of MSU’s Department of Linguistics and Germanic, Slavic, Asian and African Languages, has been appointed Associate Dean for Faculty and Administration for the College of Arts & Letters, effective January 1, 2017, and will continue in her current role as Chair of the Department of Linguistics and Germanic, Slavic, Asian and African Languages…

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Two CAL Faculty Appointed Co-Editors for TESOL Quarterly

Professor Charlene Polio Two Department of Linguistics and Germanic, Slavic, Asian and African Languages faculty members have been appointed Co-editors for TESOL Quarterly (TQ), the academic journal for the TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) International Association. Starting in 2017, Professor Charlene Polio and Assistant Professor Peter De Costa will become Associate Co-editors of TQ, and in 2018 they will…

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Faculty and Student Work Honored at National Convention

The College of Arts & Letters was well represented at the 2016 National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) conference with Tamara Butler, Assistant Professor in the Department of English and African American and African Studies, receiving the Promising Researcher Award and work produced within the College presented by faculty, students and recent alumni at the national convention held in…

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2016 New Full Professors

On November 17, Michigan State University will recognize three new professors to the College of Arts & Letters at the University Promotion and Tenure Ceremony Dinner. Please join us in congratulating these great scholars. Jeff Wray ProfessorDepartment of English Professor Jeffrey C. Wray, English and Film Studies, is an independent filmmaker and screenwriter. His award winning feature films include China, made for…

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Annual Gift Named in English Professor’s Honor

Professor of English Gary Hoppenstand has received a special honor by the  Governing Board of the national Popular Culture Association (PCA), which voted 10-0 to name its annual gift to the Ray and Pat Browne Popular Culture Library at Bowling Green State University, the Gary Hoppenstand Gift. The decision to name the gift in Hoppenstand's honor was made during a…

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Teachers Could Be Making Students’ Anxiety Worse

The anxiety that comes with feeling like an outsider in the classroom can hinder students’ learning and, ironically, teachers could be making it worse, according to a new study by a Michigan State University researcher. Scholarship students, first-generation college students, and minorities feel intense pressure to perform well – much of which is perpetuated by stereotypes that society, including teachers,…

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Ann Folino White Receives Teaching Award

Ann Folino White received the Quality in Undergraduate Teaching Award from the Mid-Michigan Spartans at the MSU alumni group’s 2016 Crystal Ball and Golden Gala on September 30. Folino White is Associate Chairperson, Associate Professor of Theatre Studies and Directing, andHead of Theatre Studies in the MSU Department of Theatre. "I take great pride in teaching students and ensuring or…

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Facilitating a Better Online Conversation

A team of researchers from the College of Arts & Letters has released a new web application aimed at keeping online conversations on track.  The Faciloscope app, developed by faculty and students in MSU’s Writing, Information and Digital Experience (WIDE) research center, provides rapid, real-time analysis of how online conversations are developing. This can be especially helpful to moderators, or conversation…

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College Welcomes New Faculty

This fall, the College of Arts & Letters welcomes many new faculty members, including 11 who are either tenured or in the tenure system. Those faculty members include: Cara Cilano Cilano is the Chair of the Department of English and comes to Michigan State University from the University of North Carolina Wilmington where she served on the English faculty and was Director of General Education.…

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Investing in Online Scholarly Presence

In today’s fast-paced world where the Internet is the go-to research tool and information on any topic is just a click or tap away, one’s own digital presence is more important than ever. The College of Arts & Letters recognizes this, and starting this month, will offer all its graduate students and faculty a new kind of web hosting support.…

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