Nominations Sought For University's Next TEDx Event

Josh Mabus discusses ‘Quitting Versus Failing’ during the 2017 TEDxUniversityofMississippi event in the Ford Center. Photo by Thomas Graning/Ole Miss Communications

Faculty, staff, alumni and students are encouraged to submit speaker nominations for the 2018 TEDxUniversity of Mississippi. The theme this year is ‘MOMENTUM.’

Nominations are being accepted online through Aug. 28. The event will be Feb. 2 or 3, 2018.
“Anyone can nominate anyone and submit as many nominations as they like,” said Marvin King, associate professor of political science and African American studies and program coordinator. “We will take seven speakers for the event, including at least one spot reserved for a student speaker. In the fall, we will have an ‘(American) Idol’ type competition to select the student speaker.”
TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. After nominations are submitted, the student selection committee uses a blind process to select the speakers they think best represent ideas worth spreading. Students do not know the name, gender or race of any speaker nominee.
In 2015, UM hosted its first TEDx event at the Gertrude C. Ford Center for the Performing Arts. In spring 2016, the TEDxUniversityofMississippi Student Planning Committee submitted a public call for speaker nominations and topic proposals. A second TEDxUM program was presented in January 2017.
“As an R1 research institution and Mississippi’s flagship university, we believe it is our duty to promote and disseminate the best ideas to the biggest possible audience,” King said.
Partners include the office of the Chancellor and the Provost; the College of Liberal Arts and its departments of African American Studies, History, Physics and Astronomy, Political Science and Theatre Arts; Residential College South; Croft Institute for International Studies; Division of Student Affairs; Office of Research and Sponsored Programs; Sally McDonnell Barksdale Honors College; Ole Miss Alumni Association; and the Oxford-Lafayette County Chamber of Commerce.
To submit MOMENTUM nominations, visit https://bit.ly/2odGhBR, or http://bit.ly/2odqrXT for student speakers. For more event information, go to https://tedx.olemiss.edu/.
By Edwin Smith