MSU College of Arts & Letters

06/05/2026

Michigan State University students in Michigan State University Department of English Professor Julian Chambliss' Readings in Graphic Narratives course partnered with Capital Area District Libraries in downtown Lansing to create a display and thematic reading lists featuring comics and graphic novels. This was an opportunity for students to transform their classroom learning into a public humanities project supporting the community and CADL Summer Reading Challenge, which starts today and runs through Aug. 8.

06/04/2026

The recent Michigan State University Department of Theatre production of “Mary Jane” invited the audience to become part of the student performance, transforming a healthcare simulation center into an intimate, immersive theatrical experience that blurred the line between actors and audience.

Theatre Professor Rob Roznowski and students on the production team worked closely with the MSU Learning and Assessment Center to adapt the medical simulation environment for the performances allowing the audience to step inside one mother’s journey of caring for her chronically ill son.

06/04/2026

Great story showcasing the work of our MSU College of Arts & Letters faculty and students and the power of writing! 💚

"Some lines are enforced by razor wire, but we can still get across them,” says MSU assistant professor Kirk Astle. During weekly writing workshops, MSU undergraduates and incarcerated college students discover common ground. 🔗go.msu.edu/WriteOn

MSU College of Arts & Letters Writing, Rhetoric, and American Cultures at Michigan State University

06/03/2026

Roberto “Marcos” Garcia, an MSU Honors College student double majoring in English and Sociology, received the nationally competitive Beinecke Scholarship. Garcia was one of only 16 recipients selected from 93 nominees nationwide and is only the sixth Michigan State University student to receive this prestigious award since the program launched in 1975.

The Beinecke Scholarship provides graduate school funding for third-year undergraduate students intending to pursue research-focused graduate study in the arts, humanities, or social sciences and is valued at $35,000.

06/01/2026

The 2026 Varg-Sullivan Endowed Graduate Award winners, given by the MSU College of Arts & Letters, are Niloufar Fallahfar, a recent graduate with an MFA in Studio Art, and Jonah Branding, a current student pursuing a dual Ph.D. in Philosophy and Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior. Recipients of this college award are selected based on the best performance, exhibition, presentation at a national/international event, or published article.

05/29/2026

Students, faculty, and alumni at Michigan State University are leaving their mark on downtown East Lansing. From vibrant murals and unique microgalleries to vinyl installations that play with light and color, Spartans are transforming public spaces throughout the city—and more projects are on the way.

05/28/2026

Yeroham Ashagre, one of five MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY - Art | Art History | Design MFA candidates to graduate in May and the recipient of the 2026 MSU MFA Prize, uses his art to explore the bounds of life and death. For his thesis exhibition "Womb of Tomb" that was previously at the Eli and Edythe Broad Art Museum at MSU, Ashagre created 12-foot-tall clay sculptures that appear n**e, headless, and with mismatched body parts carrying the weight of history and humanity.

Ashagre was also awarded a 2026-2027 Dedalus Foundation Master of Fine Arts Fellowship in Painting and Sculpture, a national award with a stipend given to only four MFA graduates each year.

05/26/2026

Mary Juzwik, Professor in Michigan State University Department of English and Michigan State University College of Education, received a William J. Beal Outstanding Faculty Award, one of the university’s highest honors. This MSU award recognizes sustained contributions to research, teaching, and outreach. Juzwik provides leadership in English education, interdisciplinary scholarship, and mentorship that have shaped both the field and the next generation of educators.

05/26/2026

Michigan State University Department of Theatre is preparing for the 2026 Summer Circle Theatre season, which runs June 4-21. This year’s theme is “Resilience,” with three productions featuring characters who are challenged to grow, adapt, and rediscover their sense of self and will. There will be pre- and post-show performances, including lively cabarets and improv. All performances are free to the public.

05/22/2026

The Farmscapes to Forests: Kellogg Biological Station Long-Term Ecological Research Artists-in-Residence Program enters its fifth year, featuring Kalamazoo-based visual artist Ellen VanderMyde as the 2026 Artist-in-Residence and, for the first time, a group exhibition showcasing work by last year’s cohort of MSU College of Arts & Letters faculty artists.