Opportunities
RCAH provides numerous DEI opportunities for students to research, examine, explore, and practice their purposes and passions in the arts and humanities through various social justice, civic and community engagement, and historical and cultural activities.
RCAH Sister Circle
The RCAH Sister Circle Mentoring Program is a holistic, culturally responsive program serving BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) female-identifying students in RCAH. Mentoring activities address academic success, professional development, and healthy work-life balance.
More information/contact: Dr. Tama Hamilton-Wray and Dr. Sitara Thobani
Social Justice Art Festival
The MSU Social Justice Art Festival (SJAF) is a four-day festival featuring a variety of student artworks centered on social justice topics. This festival was created in 2017 by Dr. Amber Benton, Assistant Dean for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in the College of Natural Science and collaborated with Dr. Kevin L. Brooks, Academic Specialist for Diversity and Civic Engagement in RCAH, with the first festival kicking off on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day in January 2018. The objective of SJAF is to provide a unique platform that engages undergraduate and graduate students, faculty, staff, and the greater MSU and East Lansing communities around social justice topics through artistic expression. Due to the success of the first festival, SJAF is traditionally offered annually during the week of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. This event is a partnership among many units and colleges across campus, including James Madison College, Residential College in the Arts and Humanities, and Office for Inclusion and Intercultural Initiatives as well as the Michigan State University Federal Credit Union.
More information/contact: Dr. Kevin Brooks
Civil Rights Tour
The Civil Rights Tour provides students opportunities to participate in research and creative activities focusing on various aspects of people, places, events, and social movements during the Civil Rights Eras of the United States. Students are immersed in select communities in cities to examine the cultural histories and social movements that undergird the struggle for human and civil rights.
More information/contact: Dr. Kevin Brooks
Black History Series
The Black History Series recognizes and celebrates the rich history of the people, places, events, and social movements in Black history and culture.
More information/contact: Dr. Kevin Brooks
Women’s Heritage Series
The Women’s Heritage Series recognizes and celebrates women, their accomplishments, and roles they play in advancing community, culture, and humanity.
More information/contact: Dr. Kevin Brooks
Community Wellbeing Series
The Community Wellbeing Series is a collaboration of RCAH community partners. This series offers strategies to acknowledge, support, and celebrate the reclamation of Black girls and women in history and culture, while providing approaches to improve the overall health and wellbeing of members of RCAH communities.
More information/contact: Dr. Kevin Brooks
Civic Engagement Administrative Leadership Development Program
The Civic Engagement Administrative Leadership Development Program is a mentoring program designed for RCAH students' interest in community engagement to learn key skills in civic engagement leadership and to address RCAH’s need for providing logistical, transportation, scheduling, and other administrative support for faculty. The purpose of this endeavor is to provide students with additional training and practical experience with program/project development, implementation, and evaluation strategies to assist faculty with curriculum development. More specifically, students will strengthen their knowledge and skills in immersion in underserved communities, community participation, asset mapping, community impact, organizational wellness, benchmarking, relationship/capacity-building, needs/program assessments, and strategic thinking and planning.
More information/contact: Dr. Kevin Brooks
Dine with Faculty-Student Wellbeing Program
The Dine with Faculty-Student Wellbeing Program provides additional academic and social support for student success and helps to establish a welcoming community and stronger sense of belonging in RCAH. This program focuses on the holistic development of students of color and other underrepresented students. The goals of the program are to strengthen relationships among students, faculty, and staff and to address student well-being and to “check-in” with students in non-formal settings.
More information/contact: Dr. Kevin Brooks
MSUFCU RCAH Dean's Choice Award
The Residential College in the Arts and Humanities (RCAH) offers the MSUFCU RCAH Dean’s Choice Award for Innovations in Civic Engagement. This prestigious award recognizes a student or group of students who foster innovation using the arts and humanities in community settings. A $2,500 prize will be awarded to a student or students who engage with communities using initiative, collaboration, and innovative arts and humanities practices in alignment with the RCAH civic engagement model and RCAH’s mission to create a better world.
More information/contact: Dr. Kevin Brooks
Martin Luther King Jr. Advancing Inclusion through Research Award
In an effort to build the body of work authored by students that supports the MSU and MLK, Jr. ideals of inclusive excellence, we encourage submission of MSU student research papers and creative projects on topics on inclusion, diversity, marginalized populations, and on human and civil rights in the framework of Project 60/50. MSU students who are members of the Honors College, James Madison College, Lyman Briggs College, or the Residential College in the Arts and Humanities are eligible to apply.
More information/contact: Dr. Kevin Brooks
The AREA Program (Advancing Racial Equity and Advocacy)
The AREA Program is a multi-faceted, student-centered initiative that aims to meet the collective promise of more robust DEI initiatives in and stronger connections between RCAH, JMC and LBC. The AREA Program is comprised of four elements—Fellows, Certificate, Teach-In, and Bridge programs—that directly address issues of retention and recruitment of BIPOC students by supporting student leaders and exposing potential students to the awesome opportunities in these colleges.
More information/contact: Dr. Tama Hamilton-Wray and Sahar Mahmood