News – Page 3 – College of Arts & Letters

A person with black hair stands smiling on a windswept sand dune overlooking Lake Michigan, wearing a green sweater and backpack. Behind them, rolling dunes, grasses, and a blue sky with scattered clouds.

Professor Researching Indigenous Environmental Stewardship with Support from Newberry Fellowship

November 10, 2025

Elan Pochedley, Assistant Professor of Religious Studies and 1855 Professor of Great Lakes Anishinaabe Knowledge, Spiritualities, and Cultural Practices, was awarded the Newberry Consortium in American Indian and Indigenous Studies (NCAIS) long-term faculty fellowship to research how Indigenous peoples’ expressions of environmental stewardship and governance have been practiced, sustained, interrupted, and/or rekindled throughout the central and western Great Lakes region.

A person stands and speaks to a group of students seated around tables arranged in a square inside a black box theater. The students hold scripts and listen attentively, surrounded by nameplates and small pumpkins.

Theatre

Moral Mayhem Meets Minimalist Theatre in ‘Chemical Imbalance: A Jekyll and Hyde Play’

November 10, 2025

The Michigan State University Department of Theatre presents “Chemical Imbalance: A Jekyll and Hyde Play,” a twisted comedy by Lauren Wilson and directed by Associate Professor Brad Willcuts. Performances run Nov. 19-23, 2025, in Studio 60 Theatre inside the MSU Auditorium building. “Chemical Imbalance” is a satirical spin on Robert Louis Stevenson’s classic “Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr…

A person with long dark hair and bangs smiles at the camera, wearing bright red cat-eye glasses and dark lipstick. Behind them is a dark mantel decorated with flowers, framed art, and a vintage clock.

Alumni / English / News / Religious Studies

From First-Generation Graduate to Rehabilitation Counselor and Advocate for Developmentally Disabled

November 7, 2025

Renee Hall earned dual bachelor’s degrees in English and Religious Studies from Michigan State University in 2010 and a master’s degree, also from MSU, in Rehabilitation Counseling in 2014. She has been an active member of the disability community for more than 20 years, serving in roles including advocate, direct support professional, service coordinator, counselor, and research specialist. She also is a first-generation college graduate.

An Asian woman with black short hair and an all-black sleeveless dress with a v-neck, holding a silver microphone and wearing a black watch. She is on a stage with a banner display behind her that says "Ignite Talks" in white letters on a red background.

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion / Event / News / Student / Student / WRAC / XA

Words that Ignite and Unite: Student Research Explores How Language Builds Community and Advocates for Change

November 6, 2025

Alex Guo, a third-year undergraduate student in the College of Arts & Letters at Michigan State University, is researching the power of language to build community and advocate for change. With dual majors in Humanities-Prelaw and Experience Architecture and minors in Business and Leadership in Integrated Learning, Guo represented the College of Arts & Letters at this semester’s Ignite Talks…

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

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion / English / Faculty / Faculty / Grant / Lansing-East Lansing Impact / Michigan Impact / News / Research / U.S. Impact

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…

AAHD / Arts MSU / Exhibition / International Impact / News / Student / Student

Cross-Border Art Project Between MSU and Canadian Students on Display at (SCENE) Metrospace

November 4, 2025

Michigan State University’s Department of Art, Art History, and Design presents “Faces and Traces: A Cross-Border Portrait Project” exhibition, showcasing the collaboration between students from MSU and Ontario College of Art and Design University (OCAD U). The exhibition runs Nov. 7-Dec. 7 at (SCENE) Metrospace, with an opening reception planned for Nov. 7 from 6 to 8 p.m.

Beaumont Tower lit with vivid red and white projections depicting skeletal figures climbing up the brick façade against the evening sky.

Arts MSU / Event / Faculty / Faculty / Lansing-East Lansing Impact / News / Performance / Student / Student / Theatre

Beaumont Tower Comes Alive with Animated Projections Created by MSU Students

November 3, 2025

Michigan State University’s Beaumont Tower came alive with light, sound, and animation during this year’s Halloween carillon concert, “The Ringing 2: Shadows Rise.” The event showcased artwork and animations created by students in the Department of Theatre’s Compositing and Special Effects for Stage and Screen (THR 337) class, taught by Alison Dobbins, Professor of Integrated Performance Media Design.

A smiling child wearing a red shirt and denim vest with large red star stands between two adults dressed in black. All three point and smile toward the audience on a brightly lit runway.

Student / Student

Innovation Meets Inclusion: MSU Students Design Adaptive Fashions for New York City Runway

October 30, 2025

Four Michigan State University students stepped into the spotlight in New York City as featured designers at the 2025 "iCAN Do Anything" Fashion Show hosted by the International Institute for the Brain (iBRAIN) to celebrate and promote adaptive and inclusive fashion. The MSU students — Jillian Kelly, Tristian Laney, Rico Seatts, and Reagan Wiley — all majoring in Apparel and Textile Design (ATD), were among a select group of designers who created custom adaptive garments for students with brain-based disabilities.

Excel Network / Excel Network Communities / News / Student / Student / WRAC / XA

Experience Architecture Major Interns for Safety Science Organization with a Global Reach

October 28, 2025

TreShai Hubbard, a senior Experience Architecture (XA) major at Michigan State University who is from Battle Creek, Michigan, gained experience the past two summers interning remotely for UL Research Institutes, OREE (Office of Research Experience and Education), based in Evanston, Illinois.

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.