Kristin Arola Named Director of American Indian and Indigenous Studies Program

Kristin Arola has been named Director of American Indian and Indigenous Studies (AIIS) at Michigan State University after serving as its Interim Director since Fall 2022. A first-generation descendant of the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community of the Lake Superior Band of Chippewa Indians, Arola also is the inaugural Karen L. Gillmor Endowed Professor in Professional and Public Writing and a…

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Gordon Henry’s Legacy and Career Celebrated with Indigenous Literature and Song

Gordon Henry, Professor in the Department of English and the inaugural Audrey and John Leslie Endowed Chair in North American Indian and Indigenous Literary Studies, will retire from Michigan State University on December 31, 2023, after more than 29 years of service to the university and community.His work and the impact he has made was celebrated during an event held…

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Inaugural Endowed Professor Teaches How to Connect Writing With Culture

As the inaugural Karen L. Gillmor Ph.D. Endowed Professor in Professional and Public Writing at Michigan State University, Kristin Arola, an innovative scholar and researcher, is not only teaching students persuasive and effective writing skills she also is showing them how to connect and make sense of their culture through their writing.  “To have been selected to serve in this…

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College of Arts & Letters Faculty Honored at 2022 Investiture

The Michigan State University community gathered at the Wharton Center for Performing Arts on Sept. 14 for the investiture of the 2022 class of endowed chairs, endowed professors, and MSU Foundation professors. The ceremony was a celebration of their accomplishments and a celebration of the philanthropic support that makes these esteemed positions possible.  Dr. Kristen Renn, newly named Mildred B.…

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MSU Awarded Grant to Study Renewable Energy Adoption in Michigan

Michigan State University was awarded close to $1 million from the National Science Foundation (NSF) for a five-year study of renewable energy options using a cross-disciplinary research approach in eight Michigan communities, including two Native American communities. The project, “Socio-Technological System Transitions: Michigan Community and Anishinaabe Renewable Energy Sovereignty,” will use community-engaged research to collect and analyze local renewable energy risks, barriers,…

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New WRAC Professor to Contribute to Critical Diversity in a Digital Age Initiative

Kristin Arola has been hired as Associate Professor in the Department of Writing, Rhetoric, and American Cultures (WRAC), effective August 16, 2017, and will contribute to the development of the College’s Critical Diversity in a Digital Age (CDDA) initiative as well as to the Cultural Rhetorics doctoral concentration. Arola previously served as Associate Professor of Rhetoric, Composition, and Technology at…

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