Students from Residential Colleges Use Research Projects To Advance Inclusion During Pandemic

February 15, 2021 - By RCAH Communications

EAST LANSING, Mich.—Four Michigan State University students have received Martin Luther King Jr. Advancing Inclusion through Research Awards for research projects focusing on topics related to diversity and marginalized populations.

Winners will be recognized at the virtual Martin Luther King Jr. Advancing Inclusion through Research Awards Program at 5:15 p.m. on Wednesday, February 24, 2021. The awards ceremony immediately follows the MSU Excellence in Diversity Award Program. Register here to attend. A Zoom link and passcode will be emailed following registration.

“This year’s prize winners were selected from a collection of competitive and engaging submissions,” said Dr. Kevin Brooks, RCAH academic specialist for diversity and civic engagement and the chair of the MLK Jr. Advancing Inclusion through Research Awards. “Their research projects expressed a dedication to the principles of diversity, equity, and inclusion and exemplified MSU’s renewed commitment to inclusive excellence.”

Students who completed projects in 2020 and were enrolled during the Fall 2020 semester were eligible to submit projects for the award.

Image of young woman, Janet Ibarra The first prize winner is Janet Ibarra, a senior in James Madison College, Honors College, and the College of Social Science, whose research project was “How the Trump Presidency Has Affected Latinx Undergraduates.” Hailing from Bangor, Michigan, Ibarra is a social relations and policy and political science pre-law major with a minor in Chicano/Latino Studies. Her award comes with a $600 prize.

Image of a young man with dark hair standing in a field wearing a Spartan hoodie. The second prize winner is Matthew Miller, a junior in the Residential College in the Arts and Humanities, Honors College, and the College of Arts and Letters, whose research project was “Reflections on Symbolic Repair for the Black Community in the United States.” Miller, majoring in arts and humanities and Russian, is from Buffalo, New York. His award comes with a $500 prize.

Image of a young woman wearing a dark sweater standing in front of artwork. The third prize winner is Madison Nacker, a senior in James Madison College and the Honors College, whose research project was “Queering Migrant Communities: Identity Building and Activism for LGBTQI+ Migrants.” Nacker is a comparative cultures and politics and social relations and policy major with minors in educational studies and peace and justice studies from Shelby Twp., Michigan. Her award comes with a $300 prize.

Image of a young woman with short dark hair wearing a bright yellow blazer. Kaylee McCarthy, a senior in the Residential College in the Arts and Humanities, Honors College, and the College of Arts and Letters, received honorable mention. Her research project was “Useful and Temporary Art: Redefining Art’s Role in a Commodified World through Tania Bruguera’s Immigrant Movement International.” McCarthy is a Woodridge, Illinois, native with majors in arts and humanities, art history and visual culture, and German. Her award comes with a $200 prize.

The awards are cosponsored by the MSU Honors College and MSU’s three residential colleges—James Madison College, Lyman Briggs College, and the Residential College in the Arts and Humanities.

The Martin Luther King Jr. Advancing Inclusion through Research Awards were established in 2010 to recognize students from MSU’s residential colleges whose research and creative projects support MSU and Martin Luther King Jr.’s ideals of inclusive excellence.