BIPOC Voices Series at MIIS

BIPOC Voices

The BIPOC Voices Series at MIIS is a milestone in the continued efforts from the student body to create lasting institutional change on campus. This project is a collaboration between the Middlebury Institute’s BIPOC Voices Planning Committee  (composed of students, the JEDI Officer and the Director of Student Life), Sustainability Council, Vice President’s Office, Kathryn Wasserman Davis Collaborative in Conflict Transformation Fund, and the Library.

Through this strategic initiative, three BIPOC speakers will be invited to MIIS each semester to share their expertise on a wide range of topics. 

The series will emphasize local speakers, student-generated topics, a networking component, and hybrid programming. Speakers will be offered honoraria for their time and perspective, as well as the ability to archive recordings of the series in a dedicated library collection for future reference. Upon successfully launching and implementing the series over an initial two years, the Provost’s Academic Council PAC will consider extending the program for an additional two years.

Desired Impact

  • Create dialogue around non-white, non-American paradigms and perspectives that reflect MIIS’ diverse student population, and broaden our collective knowledge base on issues, such as climate change, sustainability and education
  • Increase student awareness of and involvement with BIPOC-led organizations and initiatives in their field(s) of study
  • Create a sustainable video archive of lectures, panels and Q&As with BIPOC experts on topics of relevance to the MIIS community

Upcoming Events

RSVP here: https://forms.gle/dNNPjjdmyZRi6aAV7

Fall 2024 Speaker Series Lineup

Past Events

BIPOC Speaker Series of Spring 2024

Emily Feng (NPR correspondent): “Identity and Foreign Reportage”

BIPOC Women at MIIS Panel

Dr. Ashli Berktay: “Neoliberal Encroachments: Indigenous Struggles Over Land Rights and the Environment in the Amazon Region”

Mayor Tyller Williamson

Dr. Nounja Almasude: “Liberation is our Medicine”

BIPOC Speaker Series of Fall 2023

Dr. Bryan Betancur: “Latino/a, Latinx, Latine, or Other? Gender-Inclusive Language and Ethnic Identity”

Dr. Daisy Purdy: “Thanking Whom for What?: What to an Indigenous Person is Thanksgiving?”

Kanyon Sayers-Roods: “You’re on Native Land, So Now What?!”

BIPOC Speaker Series of the 2022-2023 academic year

Dionne Ybarra: Youth & Marginalized People Empowerment through a Passion for the Ocean

The Ohlone Sisters (Costanoan Rumsen Carmel Tribe): Social Justice Through the Eyes of the Native

Jody Lykes: Making Noise on Campus: A Scholarly Review of Hip Hop Studies

Dr. Vincent Intondi: Intersections of Racial Justice and Nuclear Disarmament

Kim Ly Bui: The Path to an Apology: history, racism, local government and community

Teresa Romero, President of the United Farm Workers