Lucia Ungaro Fox Park to be East Lansing’s First Park Named After a Woman

Lucia Ungaro Fox was a prolific writer, poet and educator who spent decades in East Lansing as a Michigan State University professor. Soon, she will be memorialized locally in the form of Lucia Ungaro Fox Park. 

The park is planned for the Chesterfield Hills neighborhood, near Kensington Road and Cresenwood Road. Late last year, a house was demolished on the site to make room for the park. The small pocket park is planned to be built on about a quarter-acre of land after the city receives feedback from the neighborhood. 

Lucia Ungaro Fox Park will be East Lansing’s first park named solely after a woman. The land was donated by Fox’s daughter, Marcella Fox Brown, with the condition that the park would be named after Lucia.

Fox taught Contemporary Spanish American Literature and pre-Columbian and Colonial Spanish American Literature at Michigan State University from 1968-2000, according to the Library of Michigan. A former student of Fox’s told East Lansing Info he remembers his time in her class fondly. 

“Something she’d say is ‘be proud of who you are,’ and ‘don’t be ashamed because you speak another language,’” said Juan Marinez, 79, who had Fox as a professor in the early 70s.

Marinez grew up in a Spanish-speaking household, but when he moved from Texas to East Lansing at 10 years old, he was told by his teacher to only speak English at school. He remembers there was deep prejudice against those who spoke languages other than English.   

When Marinez took Fox’s Spanish class at MSU, he could hold conversations but struggled with grammar. Before meeting Fox, he worried how he would be perceived taking a Spanish class when he grew up speaking Spanish. He remembers Fox as a reassuring presence, often telling him, “It’s OK, I will work with you.”

“I already know it [Spanish], so why would I sign up for that?” Marinez remembers thinking. “I took Lucia’s class and I learned a lot… not only grammatically but she also exposed myself in the class to some of the Spanish writers [and] philosophers.” 

Marinez said he remembers feeling comfortable asking questions in Fox’s classes that he would not in other classes. He’d learn about his classmates by asking about their cultural and ethnic identities. 

“You’re not weird by asking those questions, you’re feeling the way you feel,” he remembers Fox told him.  

East Lansing Parks, Recreation and Arts Director Justin Drwencke said he is glad the city will soon have its first park named solely after a woman. 

“[It] is kind of surprising that in 2026 that’s even a question, and I’m so glad to be able to say that that’s not the case anymore,” said Drwencke. 

“But that is something that really is on my radar… are there places where there’s work to do to achieve our diversity, equity and inclusion goals?” Drwencke said. 

The quarter-acre property was donated by Fox’s daughter, Marcella Fox Brown, in September 2024 after two separate structure fires, with the condition the property would be named after Marcella’s mother.

After demolishing the home on the property in December 2025, Drwencke said next steps include collaborating with the neighborhood and departments, like public works and engineering, to establish if an intersection may need to be reconfigured due to neighborhood traffic concerns. 

“We’ve just returned it back to kind of an open space and in the upcoming year we’ll be… working with the neighborhood to figure out what’s the best use for that space, like what kind of things would they want to see at that park,” Drwencke said.

While it’s unclear what the park will look like, East Lansing’s preliminary budget recommendation for the next fiscal year includes $160,000 for community engagement, installing park amenities, landscaping and native vegetation for Lucia Ungaro Fox Park.

The site is also prone to flooding, and Drwencke said the green space could help retain stormwater. Shortly after the City Council accepted the land donation in 2024, Mayor Erik Altmann suggested the site could host a rain garden along with other park amenities.

Correction 4/14: This story initially stated an incorrect donor of the property. The property was donated by Marcella Fox Brown.