News – Page 9 – College of Arts & Letters

MSU Theatre Delivers a Modern Look on Unions with ‘Waiting for Lefty’

March 19, 2024

The complexities and struggles of a New York City cab drivers’ union on the verge of a strike is the focus of the next production by the Michigan State University Department of Theatre. Offering a modern view to a 90-year-old story, the Department of Theatre presents Waiting for Lefty March 26-30 in the MSU Auditorium’s Studio 60.

Faculty / News / Spanish

College Mourns the Passing of Spanish Professor

March 18, 2024

The College of Arts & Letters at Michigan State University is mourning the passing of Virginia Ruifernández-Conde, an Assistant Professor of Spanish in the Department of Romance and Classical Studies. Ruifernández-Conde also was a graduate of MSU having earned her Ph.D. in Hispanic Cultural Studies from Michigan State University in 2013. She died on Feb. 19, 2024, after a fierce…

AAHD / Award / Design, Technology, and Media / Lansing-East Lansing Impact / News / Staff / Student / Student

Work by Students and Staff Recognized with ADDY Awards

March 15, 2024

At this year’s American Advertising (ADDY) Awards celebration for the American Advertising Federation (AAF) Lansing chapter, students in MSU’s Graphic Design program took home two Gold, three Silver, and two Bronze ADDY Awards. In the professional competition, MSU’s College of Arts & Letters Marketing Office received a Mosaic Award as well as one Gold, two Silver, and two Bronze ADDY Awards.

Photo of person smiling in front of red brick building outdoors.

English / Exhibition / News / Scholarship / Student / Student

CREATE! Micro-Grant Project Examines Mental Health Through Poetry

March 14, 2024

As a recipient of a 2023 CREATE! Micro-Grant, Rose Butler-Shriner, a senior English major with a concentration in Creative Writing, used the funding to write an inspirational poem that shines a spotlight on the struggle between mental health and hope. This poem, Ars Poetica: Just a Poem, explores the feeling of being overloaded and the inability to focus on mental…

Alumni / Arts MSU / Featured Alumni / News / Theatre / U.S. Impact / Visual Arts, Arts Administration, and Performing Arts

Theatre Alum Continues to Create Sensory-Friendly Productions as Artist-in-Residence in Georgia

March 13, 2024

Since early childhood, Evan Hill Phillips has always enjoyed the spotlight as he craved an outlet to create, entertain, and perform. At Michigan State University, the BFA in Theatre graduate discovered a whole new and innovative theatrical approach, one that is designed for audiences that are neurodiverse.With an older brother who is neurodiverse and a first-hand knowledge of the industry’s…

Arts MSU / Diversity, Equity and Inclusion / Grant / News / Student / Student / Visual Arts, Arts Administration, and Performing Arts

Studio Art Major Explores Identity as Transgender Person Through CREATE! Micro-Grant Project

March 12, 2024

As a recipient of a 2023 CREATE! Micro-Grant, Cam Carmichael, a Studio Art major with a minor in Comics and LGBTQ Sexuality Studies, created an oil-painted self-portrait that explores his identity as a transgender person in today’s political climate. Centered around the intimate feelings of comfort Carmichael feels with his partner, the work, titled It’s Pink Because I Love You,…

A picture of two people. On the left is a woman in a black sweatshirt and on the right is a man in a grey sweatshirt.

Alumni / Donor / English / Fundraising / Lansing-East Lansing Impact / News

$1.638 Million Gift Establishes Two Scholarships and Supports English Department

March 11, 2024

Although they never had kids of their own, Gregory Shafer and Bernadette Gongora helped raise 39 foster children and soon will have a positive impact on the lives of countless students at Michigan State University for generations to come thanks to the $1.638 million gift they made to MSU’s College of Arts & Letters. Married for 30 years, Shafer and Gongora say…

AAHD / Arts MSU / Event / Exhibition / Student

MFA Candidate Explores Themes of Masculinity and Identity Through Art

March 8, 2024

Gustavo Uriel Ayala, an artist with vibrant and thought-provoking pieces that delve into themes of masculinity, identity, and belonging, is one of the MFA candidates in the Department of Art, Art History, and Design at Michigan State University who is graduating this spring and whose work is included in the 2024 Master of Fine Arts Exhibition, which runs March 9-May…

Arts MSU / Diversity, Equity and Inclusion / Event / News / Theatre

Chasten Buttigieg to Discuss Theatre, LGBTQ+ Rights and Representation at March 16 Event

March 7, 2024

New York Times bestselling author, teacher, arts enthusiast, and LGBTQ+ rights advocate Chasten Buttigieg, who also has a theatre background that includes working with kids with autism, will share, in a moderated conversation, his experiences with theatre at an event associated with What if Wilhelmina, the latest musical production of the Michigan State University Department of Theatre’s Sense-Ability Ensemble, which…

Event / Faculty / News / Research / Scholarship

Registration Still Open for 9th Annual Global Digital Humanities Symposium

March 6, 2024

This year’s Global Digital Humanities Symposium at Michigan State University will, in large part, focus on ethical Artificial Intelligence with each of the three keynote speakers planning to address the topic. Bill Hart-Davidson, Professor in the Department of Writing, Rhetoric, and Cultures at Michigan State University and Associate Dean for Research and Graduate Education in the College of Arts &…