News – Page 7 – College of Arts & Letters

A group of young children and adults sit in a circle on the floor, joyfully tossing colorful scarves into the air.

MSU Making a Mark When It Comes to Investing in the Arts as Essential to K-12 Education

September 16, 2025

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’…

Children sit on both sides of a long table, contributing to a shared painting. The paper canvas is filled with colorful shapes, swirls, and rainbows. An instructor oversees the activity.

AAHD / Arts MSU / Lansing-East Lansing Impact / News / Programs / Student / Student

MSU’s SmART Program Expands Community Art Access While Giving Art Education Majors Teaching Experience

September 15, 2025

As most experienced teachers well know, lesson plans don’t always go according to plan. Thinking on your feet and taking advantage of unforeseen “teachable moments” can often lead to the biggest lessons of the day. However, this is not something that can be easily taught in a classroom and is much better learned through real-world experiences, like what Michigan State University’s Saturday Morning Art (SmART) program provides.

A small group of students gathers around a large easel with a charcoal drawing of trees and abstract shapes, with another student on the side of the frame.

Arts MSU / Event / News

Drawing Marathon Returns to Summer Circle Theatre Courtyard Sept. 23

September 12, 2025

The annual Drawing Marathon, hosted by MSU’s Department of Art, Art History, and Design, returns this year to the Summer Circle Theatre Courtyard, located in front of the Kresge Art Center, on Tuesday, Sept. 23, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. In the event of rain, the Drawing Marathon will move inside the Kresge Art Center. The public is invited to this non-stop, eight-hour drawing event.

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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News / Religious Studies

MSU Launches New Major in Nonprofit Leadership, Religion, and Social Change

September 10, 2025

The Department of Religious Studies at Michigan State University has a new undergraduate major designed to meet the growing demand for ethical, culturally competent leaders in the expanding nonprofit, philanthropic, and service sectors. The Nonprofit Leadership, Religion, and Social Change major, launched Fall 2025, blends academic study, experiential learning, community engagement, and applied research to provide students with a strong…

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AAHD / Arts MSU / Event / Lansing-East Lansing Impact / Lecture Series / News

Stanley & Selma Hollander Artist, Designer, and Scholar Lecture Series to Bring Distinguished Guests to MSU in 2025-2026

September 8, 2025

Through its annual Selma & Stanley Hollander Artist, Designer, and Scholar Lecture Series, the Department of Art, Art History, and Design at Michigan State University hosts several internationally recognized leaders in the fields of art and design, who each offer inspiring talks that explore how visual representation in all its complex forms exists as a mode of inquiry. The 2025-2026 Selma & Stanley Hollander Artist, Designer, and Scholar Lecture Series will bring 15 distinguished guests to campus.

Portrait of MSU Assistant Professor Tim Conrad smiling. He’s wearing a button down short and in the background are tree branches.

Award / English / Faculty / Faculty / Michigan Impact / News

English Professor Receives Midwest Book Award for Short Story Collection

September 4, 2025

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…

Stylized illustration of three women in vintage aviation uniforms walking forward with determined expressions. The first two wear matching blue uniforms and hats, while the third, leading the group, wears a red bandana, rolled-up sleeves, and carries a toolbox. A plane flies overhead.

Arts MSU / Lansing-East Lansing Impact / News / Performance / Production / Theatre / Visual Arts, Arts Administration, and Performing Arts

New Musical Takes Flight at MSU in Partnership with Department of Theatre and Wharton Center

September 3, 2025

Buckle up for turbulence, tunes, and 1960s hijinks as Michigan State University’s Department of Theatre, in collaboration with Wharton Center, presents “Taking Off!,” a high-flying new musical comedy and this year’s New Musical Laboratory production. Performances are scheduled for Sept. 19-21, 2025, at Wharton Center’s Pasant Theatre.

Faculty / Faculty / Faculty Stories / News / Research / Scholarship

Leonora Souza Paula Selected for National Engaged Scholars Initiative

September 2, 2025

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.

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Award / Faculty / Faculty / Faculty Stories / News

Trixie Smith Receives Statewide Award Presented by Michigan Council of Teachers of English

August 28, 2025

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…