News – Page 76 – College of Arts & Letters

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Renovating Learning Through Compassion and Innovation

July 13, 2020

After 10 years and two terms as Chairperson of Michigan State University’s Department of Theatre, Professor Kirk Domer is returning to the faculty. His time as Chairperson, he says, has been defined by three words: renovation, innovation, and compassion. He has built a reputation of leading from a place of compassionate and collaborative risk-taking, using the art of theatre to serve as a civilizing agent in society. He summed up his tenure as Chairperson by saying: “My goal has…

Faculty / Grant / News / Programs

Faculty Receive Funding to Develop Open Educational Resources

July 9, 2020

In an effort to promote equal access to information and spaces for all, MSU Libraries have awarded nine MSU faculty members funding assistance for the creation and adaption of open education resource materials for the 2020-21 academic year as part of a new program designed to help instructors reduce costs for students, improve access to required text, and increase student…

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Faculty / Faculty Stories / News / Programs

Interim Director of Projects and Education Appointed for Writing Center

July 9, 2020

Karen Moroski-Rigney has been appointed Interim Director of Projects and Education for the Writing Center in the College of Arts & Letters. Her appointment runs from June 1, 2020, to December 31, 2020. Trixie Smith, who currently is on sabbatical, will return to her position as the Writing Center Director in January 2021. As the Interim Director of Projects and Education, Moroski-Rigney…

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Faculty / Faculty Stories / News / Programs

Grace Pregent Appointed Interim Director of The Writing Center

July 7, 2020

Grace Pregent has been appointed Interim Director of The Writing Center in the College of Arts & Letters. Her appointment runs from June 1, 2020, to December 31, 2020. Trixie Smith, who currently is on sabbatical, will return to her position as The Writing Center Director in January 2021. Pregent began serving as the Associate Director of The Writing Center in 2019,…

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Faculty / Faculty / Faculty Stories / News / Programs

Paula Winke Named Director of Second Language Studies

July 7, 2020

Paula Winke, Professor in the Department of Linguistics and Germanic, Slavic, Asian, and African Languages, has been appointed Director of the Second Language Studies Program in the College of Arts & Letters, effective August 16, 2020, through August 15, 2024. The Second Language Studies (SLS) Program is an interdisciplinary research and pedagogy program whose members investigate the acquisition and teaching…

Faculty / Faculty Stories / News / Programs

Salah Hassan Appointed Director of Global Studies in Arts and Humanities

July 6, 2020

Salah Hassan has been appointed Director of the Global Studies in Arts and Humanities (GSAH) program. This three-year appointment is effective August 16, 2020, to August 15, 2023. Hassan served as Interim Director of GSAH during the 2019-2020 academic year. He is an Associate Professor in the Department of English and a core faculty member in the GSAH and Muslim Studies programs. A…

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion / Faculty / Faculty / Faculty Stories / News / Publication / Research

Examining the Power of Pop Culture to Shape Perception, Issues, and Trends

July 2, 2020

Kinitra Brooks grew up connecting ideas, asking questions, and demanding the freedom to do so. Today, the Associate Professor in MSU’s Department of English continues to push boundaries through her study of Black women, genre fiction, popular culture, and the work of conjure women as intellectual history. “Basically, I teach and research Black women creating weird stuff,” Brooks said. “That includes Black women…

Award / COVID-19 / Diversity, Equity and Inclusion / Grant / News / Student

Micro-Grants Awarded to 12 Art Projects Addressing COVID-19

June 30, 2020

The CREATE! Micro-Grant Program has selected 12 student projects to each receive $500 to respond critically and imaginatively to events occurring during the COVID-19 pandemic. Many of the winning projects also will reflect on the fight for social justice in the Black Lives Matter movement, producing art that responds to struggles brought on by the pandemic and acts of police…

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Diversity, Equity and Inclusion / Faculty / Faculty Stories / News / Research

Philosophy Professor Recognized for Anti-Violence Research

June 25, 2020

Elena Ruíz’s anti-violence research has attracted the interest and support of advocacy organizations and philanthropic groups world-wide, including the Me Too Movement Organization for which she was named principal researcher for gender-based violence in January 2020. An Assistant Professor in MSU’s Department of Philosophy, Ruíz identifies strategic interventions for sexual violence and social structuresthat harm and keep people from meeting their basic needs. Through cross-disciplinary…

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Faculty / Faculty Stories / News / Programs

New Director of Citizen Scholars Program Named

June 24, 2020

Stacia Rigney, Assistant Professor and Affiliated Graduate Faculty in the Department of Writing, Rhetoric, and American Cultures, has been appointed Director of the College of Arts & Letters Citizen Scholars program, effective August 16, 2020. “I'm excited to work in the Citizen Scholars Program. One of the university's main responsibilities is to prepare students to be informed, equitable, inclusive, and active citizens.…