News – Page 79 – College of Arts & Letters

Changes to the Fall Semester

August 19, 2020

From the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, the safety of our community and the success of our students have been our top priorities. Yesterday’s communication from MSU President Stanley asking undergraduate students to continue their MSU education remotely has re-emphasized our commitment to these priorities. The recent spread of the virus over the last few days at other universities, coupled with our own outbreak in East Lansing this past June, make it clear we need to minimize the number of people on campus to protect the health of our community.

COVID-19 / Donor / Fundraising / News / Programs

Free Support Programs to Help Michigan’s K-12 School Districts

August 13, 2020

Michigan State University has created a number of support programs and materials to help Michigan’s K-12 school districts prepare for online instruction this fall. Among these programs is the Foundations of Successful Online Teaching & Learning series that was collaboratively developed by MSU's Enhanced Digital Learning Initiative and Okemos Public Schools. This series is designed to help teachers understand and adopt the…

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion / Faculty / Faculty / Grant / Health / News / Research

Closing the Health Care Gap Through Patient Engagement, Partnership

August 10, 2020

Michigan State University researchers have been awarded a $3.75 million grant from the National Institutes of Health for research focused on decreasing cardiovascular disease risk morbidity and mortality for minority and low-income populations with diabetes mellitus. Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of diabetes-related morbidity and mortality. The researchers have found that better patient engagement and communication between patients and physicians may…

COVID-19 / Faculty / Health / News / Research

Studying How COVID Pandemic Is Affecting Language Change

August 5, 2020

COVID-19 has had a major impact on people around the world, but how is the pandemic changing our language and the way we communicate? That is the question being studied by a team of researchers at Michigan State University, led by Associate Professor Suzanne Wagner and Assistant Professor Betsy Sneller. The MI COVID Diaries project, run by MSU’s Sociolinguistics Lab, has been…

Alumni / COVID-19 / Faculty / Health / News / Student

Responding to COVID-19 with Innovation and Compassion

July 23, 2020

For the past several months, MSU’s Apparel and Textile Design (ATD) faculty, alumni, and students have used their skills and contributed their time in the fight against COVID-19 by constructing masks and teaching others how to make their own through an online video. These students, faculty, and alumni were encouraged by a social media campaign that shared information about ways…

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Faculty / Health / News / Research

Learning While Meeting Community Needs for Mental Health Resource

July 22, 2020

Lorelei Blackburn wants her students to do more than simply read, complete assignments, and take tests. Each semester, the Assistant Professor of Writing, Rhetoric, and American Cultures personalizes the learning experience for her students by pairing classwork with community-based projects. Last fall, a chance encounter led Blackburn to the perfect student opportunity as well as for MSU researchers involved in an ongoing mental…

COVID-19 / Donor / Fundraising / Health / News / Programs

Spartans Will to Give and Help Students Who Face Financial Hardships

July 20, 2020

As the COVID-19 pandemic turns our way of life upside down, one principle continues to be of utmost importance: the need to look out for one another. Since mid-March when Michigan State University moved to remote learning to contain the spread of COVID-19, College of Arts & Letters alumni, parents, and friends have asked how they can help and dozens have contributed…

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Alumni / Faculty / Faculty / Faculty Stories / News / Publication

Professor Publishes Poetry Compilation Addressing Trump Administration

July 16, 2020

Cheryl Caesar, Associate Professor in the Department of Writing, Rhetoric, and American Cultures, recently published a book, Flatman: Poems of Protest in the Trump Era, which is a compilation of 40 poems that explore the actions of the Trump administration from September 2018 to May 2019. It’s an artistic response to the emotions evoked within Caesar during the Trump presidency. “The process of writing this…

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Alumni / COVID-19 / Featured Alumni / Fundraising / News

MSU Alumnus Founds Retail Company With Aim to Help the Homeless

July 14, 2020

MSU alumnus Josh York first became interested in creating his own clothing when he was in middle school. He started by making T-shirts with his mom and sold them to his classmates. A few years later while attending Schoolcraft College, York, then 19, hand-stitched his last name into a beanie and began selling them at local music shows. That marked…

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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…