Dear ComArtSci Community and friends,
There are moments each semester that remind me exactly who we are as a college. This month, Give Green Day, MSU’s annual day of giving, was one of them.
Seeing our alumni, faculty, staff and friends show up in such a meaningful way was a powerful reminder of the community we’ve built. Their support directly creates opportunities for our students, from hands-on learning experiences to industry immersion trips and career-shaping connections. This year, our community made 127 gifts, raising $21,940 and unlocking an additional $2,650 in university challenge funds, bringing our Give Green Day total to $24,590 in support of those efforts.
More than 100 alumni stepped up to give, joined by families, friends and members of our campus community who believe deeply in the impact of a ComArtSci education. It was also great to see the ComArtSci Alumni Board building energy and encouraging others to get involved.
I'm especially grateful for the donors who helped us surpass our goal for the ComArtSci Experiential Learning Fund, raising more than $11,500 to support hands-on learning opportunities for our students. These are the experiences that help students connect classroom learning to real-world application and begin to see what is possible.
Connecting students to experience and opportunity
The investment in our students comes to life most clearly through experiential learning. At ComArtSci, these experiences are not an add-on. They are central to how we prepare students for what comes next.
Over spring break, students in the Department of Advertising and Public Relations traveled to New York City as part of an industry immersion program. They visited agencies and media organizations, meeting with leaders and Spartan alumni who offered a firsthand look at how the industry operates.
For junior advertising student Anash Persad, the experience helped connect classroom learning to real-world work, giving him a clearer sense of where he fits, what excites him and how his skills translate into a meaningful career.
One moment that captured the spirit of the trip was a visit to WPP Media at the World Trade Center, where nearly half of the professionals who met with students were Michigan State alumni. It was incredible to see that kind of Spartan presence and to watch our students make those connections in real time.
Those moments matter. They build confidence, create connections and remind students that there is no single path to success — just a community willing to help them navigate it.
Advertising students visiting Developmental Counsellors International headquarters in New York City.
Advancing research, teaching and impact
While some of our undergraduate students were making connections with industry in NYC, Advertising and Public Relations graduate students and faculty traveled to Austin, Texas to highlight their research at the American Academy of Advertising conference.
As a member of the Academy’s Executive Committee, I thoroughly enjoyed spending time with our faculty and students and having a front-row seat to the range of timely topics their research highlights.
Hairong Li, ADPR professor, and Media and Information doctoral student Nan Zhang presented research on how image features influence social media engagement and the role of visual aesthetics. It was especially exciting to see Nan recognized at the conference, earning a doctoral dissertation grant award, a student travel award and selection to the highly competitive Visiting Professor Program — a reflection of the strength of her research and her growing impact in the field.
Saleem Alhabash, ADPR professor, and Media and Information doctoral student Subhalakshmi Bezbaruah presented work examining the role of nonhuman influencers in advertising. Additional research from faculty, including Mengyan Ma, AD+PR assistant professor, explored cannabis advertising and social responsibility in the digital and algorithmic age.
Our faculty also led broader conversations within the discipline, participating in panels on innovation in advertising teaching and research, while I joined colleagues from leading colleges of communication to discuss navigating academic leadership during a time of great change.
A “Imagine a World Without Abuse” campaign ad created by Chowles’ ADV 428 class.
This month, we also saw a well-deserved recognition of the impact our faculty are having through teaching. Ross Chowles, ADPR professor of practice, was honored with MSU’s 2026 Distinguished Partnership Award for Community-Engaged Teaching.
Through his course, Advanced Creative: Media II, students partnered with the Traverse Bay Children’s Advocacy Center to create the “Imagine a World Without Abuse” campaign, developing creative and effective public awareness efforts focused on preventing child sexual abuse. This powerful work is a great example of how we prepare students with skills and experience necessary to take on meaningful, real-world issues .
I love seeing this kind of work recognized.
Legacy, leadership and the impact of mentorship
Welcoming Susan Goldberg back home to campus for the March 10 Neal Shine Ethics Lecture was a special moment for our college. We are especially grateful to Susan and the Shine family for their continued generosity and commitment to our students — ensuring that Neal Shine’s legacy lives on in meaningful ways across our college.
It was especially meaningful to host this conversation in our own WKAR studios, highlighting the important role public media plays in fostering thoughtful dialogue and connecting communities through trusted storytelling.
I had the privilege of spending two days with Susan as she connected with her scholarship recipients and met with faculty and students to talk about the shifting landscape of journalism and how we can prepare the next generation to shape its future.
A longtime media executive and respected journalist, Susan shared thoughtful reflections on ethics, leadership and the evolving media landscape. She also offered powerful insights on how we engage audiences around complex environmental issues.
What stayed with me most was hearing Susan reflect on her time as a student and the important role Neal Shine played in helping her finish her degree. It was a powerful reminder that this college has always been about people showing up for students.
While she was here, Susan also had the chance to connect with Fashina Aladé, associate professor in AD+PR. Shina is doing important work studying representation in children’s programming, supported in part by GBH. Her research looks at content like Work It Out Wombats!, produced by GBH and available on PBS KIDS, and how young audiences make sense of these shows in connection to the world around them. It was great to hear afterward how meaningful it was for Shina to share that work directly with Susan and talk about the role GBH has played in making it possible.
Supporting the people who support our students
Behind all of this work is a community that makes it possible. And that sense of connection was on full display at our employee appreciation event this month. It was great to see so many people take time to connect and celebrate the work that keeps this college moving forward.
Our faculty and staff are the backbone of ComArtSci, and their impact is felt in every classroom, every advising conversation and every student success story.
Another fun moment this month was the premiere of Food & Thought, a new advice and cooking show created by associate professor Dani Brown and artist-in-residence Jarrad Henderson, both in the School of Journalism. The project also featured content produced by students across majors and minors, including Sofia Pate, Alexis Schmidt, Brianna Schmidt and Jasmine Snow. The first episode honored emeritus faculty member Esther Thorson.
The episode used food as a starting point for deeper conversation, highlighting how shared experiences like cooking can create space to explore different perspectives and ways of thinking. Through preparing one of Esther Thorson’s family recipes, the conversation expanded into reflections on her career and the ideas she hopes will continue to shape how we approach communication. I hope you’ll check it out – it was a thoughtful and personal tribute, and a great example of how our community brings people together through storytelling.
Strengthening community and leadership
As we continue to build that sense of connection within our college, it’s also important that ComArtSci is represented in conversations shaping the future of the university.
I had the opportunity to join colleagues at a faculty dinner with MSU President Kevin M. Guskiewicz, alongside Juan Mundel, associate dean for graduate studies, and David Markowitz, associate professor in the Department of Communication.
Moments like these are important because they ensure ComArtSci is part of the conversations shaping the future of the university. It was great to spend time sharing the work happening across our college — from student experiences to faculty research — and to highlight the impact our community is making both on campus and beyond.
These opportunities reinforce that ComArtSci has a strong and visible voice at MSU. They also create space to advocate for our students, elevate our disciplines and strengthen the connections that help move our work forward.
Onward,
Heidi Hennink-Kaminski