U.S. Impact

A person in a green shirt on the left helps a group of four people plant strawberry plants in terracotta pots.

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…

Five people stand in front of a large field of solar panels on a sunny day. Rows of panels stretch into the distance, surrounded by green grass and trees under a blue sky with scattered clouds

Faculty / Faculty / Faculty Stories / Grant / Lansing-East Lansing Impact / Michigan Impact / News / Religious Studies / Research / U.S. Impact

Religious Studies Professor Part of $3.6 Million NSF Grant to Build First-of-Its-Kind Solar-Agriculture Lab

October 27, 2025

Michigan State University scientists plan to build a first-of-its-kind outdoor lab to study how solar panels placed alongside crops cloud save water, improve soil health, and support ecosystems, all while boosting farmers' bottom line and preserving farm production. The project, led by Earth and Environmental Sciences Assistant Professor Anthony Kendall, is made possible by a five-year $3.6 million National Science Foundation (NSF) grant. Gretel Van Wieren, Professor in the Department of Religious Studies at MSU, is among the senior research personnel on the project.

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…

An ironwork gate on the left and then collages and artwork displayed in a gallery setting. The "Diasporic Collage: Puerto Rico and the Survival of a People" at the Eli and Edythe Broad Art Museum at Michigan State University. Photo: Kyle Flubacker Photography

Exhibition / News / U.S. Impact

Center for Puerto Rican Studies at Hunter College and College of Arts & Letters at MSU Launch Community Microgrant Program

June 19, 2025

A new community-centered initiative, the Diasporic Collage Community Microgrant Program, has been launched through a partnership between the Center for Puerto Rican Studies (CENTRO) at Hunter College, New York, New York, and the College of Arts & Letters at Michigan State University. This microgrant program was open to all community organizations, inviting them to propose the creation of locally rooted programs that…

A side-by-side portrait of two men. On the left, a man with long, wavy gray hair and a floral button-up shirt is smiling against a neutral background. On the right, a man with short black hair, a beard, and a floral button-up shirt is also smiling against a plain white background.

Award / Faculty / Faculty / Faculty Stories / International Impact / Lansing-East Lansing Impact / Linguistics / Michigan Impact / News / Publication / Publishing, Editing, and Authorship / U.S. Impact

Professor Receives National Award for Second Language Teaching and Learning Textbook

March 21, 2025

Shawn Loewen, Professor in the Department of Linguistics, Languages, and Cultures at Michigan State University, received a 2025 PROSE Award from the Association of American Publishers (AAP) for his co-authored textbook, A Practical Guide to Second Language Teaching and Learning. The 2025 PROSE Awards recognize the very best professional and scholarly works published in 2024 in the United States in five areas of excellence.

A composite image featuring four headshots of individuals side by side. From left to right: a man in a suit and tie with glasses, a man with shoulder-length wavy gray hair in a floral-patterned shirt, a woman with long brown hair wearing a white shirt and a blue sweater, and a woman with short brown hair wearing green-framed glasses and a gray coat. They are all smiling.

Faculty / Faculty / Faculty Stories / International Impact / Linguistics / Michigan Impact / News / Research / Scholarship / U.S. Impact

Applied Linguistics Scholars Among Top 2-Percent of Scientists Worldwide

March 14, 2025

Four professors from the Department of Linguistics, Languages, and Cultures at Michigan State University are among the top 2% of scientists in the world, according to Stanford University’s latest World’s Top 2% Scientists list, which identifies scholars who are top-cited in their respective fields.

Two women wearing black sit on a theatre stage that is lit in red. One woman is sitting and looking straight ahead. The other woman is more in the background of the left and sitting at an angle. A group of discarded chairs surround both women. Photo by Federico Sigillo.

Arts MSU / English / Faculty / Faculty / Italian / Lansing-East Lansing Impact / Lecture Series / Michigan Impact / News / Performance / Theatre / U.S. Impact

U.S. Premier of Italian Play Addressing Themes of Sexual Violence Coming to MSU, Other Universities

February 24, 2025

In the U.S. debut, acclaimed Italian playwright, actor, and director Giuliana Musso will explore the traumatic effects of silence when sexual abuse occurs at home through her play “Dentro (Inside): A True Story, If You Think So.” The play is a dramatized account of real-life conversations, Musso’s research on the topic, and her own attempt to bring awareness to the…

Four people stand behind a table that has brochures and a laptop on it. There’s a white tablecloth that says: “Knowledge Commons.” Behind the people are two large banners. The banner on the left says: “Discover. Connect. Share.” The banner on the right says: “Knowledge Commons” repeated across the banner.

Faculty / Faculty / News / Research / U.S. Impact

Online Repository at MSU to Host NEH-funded Research Expanding Public Access

January 28, 2025

Knowledge Commons, managed by Michigan State University, was awarded a multi-year contract from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) to host and make publicly available NEH-funded research through the KCWorks online repository. The NEH is an independent federal agency that helps support national humanities research, education, preservation, and public programming. It awards around $150 million annually in support of roughly 850 projects and initiatives.

A person with curly hair, gold hoop earrings, and a black shirt stands outside in front of green foliage.

Award / Diversity, Equity and Inclusion / English / Faculty / Grant / News / U.S. Impact

MSU English Professor Receives National Award to Support Book about South Asian American Experiences

January 23, 2025

Michigan State University Associate Professor Divya Victor received a national Creative Capital Award for literature to support development of her upcoming book of essays, “Kin.” Victor is part of the MSU Department of English and Director of the Creative Writing Program. Creative Capital awarded $2.45 million in project grants to 55 artists, including Victor, to support the creation of groundbreaking…

Faculty / Grant / International Impact / News / Research / U.S. Impact

Several College Projects Supported by HARP Development and Production Awards

December 13, 2024

Projects by College of Arts & Letters faculty, ranging from a linguistic course, to traveling exhibitions, to books on a range of subjects, received support this year from Humanities and Arts Research Program (HARP) Development or Production Awards. Funding for these HARP Grants is provided, in part, through the Michigan State University Research Foundation.