Theme: New Avenues

Come discover the New Avenues being explored in various fields at TEDxUniversityofMississippi’s 7th Annual Event on 2.22.2022.
From examining outer space to the inner workings of our minds, from revitalizing a folk tradition to saving children from toxic waters, from the perspective of a camera lens to the revelations of ancient graffiti—there is an avenue for everyone to enjoy. Join us early at 6:30 for a preshow with the Mississippians Jazz Combo. Hang out during intermission to hear the Rising Stars Fife and Drum Band. Peruse original art exploring New Avenues by students and faculty of the Art Department. Tickets are free, but reservations are required. Call the Central Box Office on campus at 1-662-915-7411 or visit our website for additional options.

Ford Center for the Performing Arts
351 University Address
University, Mississippi, 38677
United States

Jacqueline DiBiasie-Sammons

Assistant Professor of Classics

Dr. Jacqueline DiBiasie-Sammons’ scholarly career focuses on the aesthetics of ancient Roman graffiti. She was the 2021 recipient of the Dr. Mike L. Edmonds New Scholar Award in Humanities. Her current research investigates the aesthetics of ancient graffiti and graffiti made using charcoal. Jackie has also pioneered the application of several digital technologies to record and visualize ancient Roman graffiti. For the past several years she has included students in the research as part of the Ancient Graffiti Project, for which she served as Field Director.

Maria Brito

Art Consultant

Maria Brito is a proud Latina, Venezuelan immigrant and Harvard graduate. She left a successful career as a corporate attorney in 2009 to launch and grow a seven-figure art advisory from scratch. Since then, she’s worked with some of the world’s top artists, including Chinese activist Ai Weiwei and incognito street sensation Banksy. She has curated art exhibitions on three continents and advised hip-hop moguls, Oscar® winning actors, Tony® winning producers, CEOs of Fortune 500 companies, and hundreds of others through her weekly blog, The Groove. Maria’s expertise has been featured in The New York Times, The Financial Times, The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, VOGUE, TIME, The Economist and CNN. She is passionate about adding creative perspective and diversity to business and life. Maria recently published How Creativity Rules the World (HarperCollins, 2022).

Meagen Rosenthal

Associate Professor in the Department of Pharmacy Administration

Dr. Meagen Rosenthal focuses on developing systems to integrate health research evidence into practice. As Co-Director of UM CREW, an externally facing research center on the University of Mississippi campus, Dr. Rosenthal uses community driven research to empower Mississippi communities. As the Interim Director of the William Magee Institute for Student Wellbeing, Dr. Rosenthal is using the practice to facilitate a strategic plan that empowers student communities to develop resiliency and maximize potential through holistic well-being.

Michael Fagans

Assistant Professor in the School of Journalism and New Media, University of Mississippi

Michael Fagans is an Assistant Professor at the School of Journalism and New Media, a working photojournalist, a documentary filmmaker, and an author. He enjoys telling people’s stories. Michael’s work has taken him to the Navajo Nation, Malawi, India, Austria, Afghanistan, Scotland, Canada, the Dominican Republic, Belize, and Guatemala. His documentary film, The Trafficked Life, helped raise over $50,000 that was donated to ten nonprofits working to combat human trafficking in California’s central valley. His documentary about David Sheffield’s autobiographical play, The Heartbreak Henry, is currently in post-production. Additionally, he has authored three books on iPhone photography with Amherst Media.

Michelle Hanlon

Co-director of the Air and Space Law Program and the Center for Air and Space Law at the University of Mississippi

Michelle L.D. Hanlon is Co-Founder and President of For All Moonkind, Inc., a nonprofit corporation and the only organization in the world focused on protecting human cultural heritage in outer space. As its president, she was instrumental in the development of the recently enacted One Small Step Act in the United States. For All Moonkind is a Permanent Observer to the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space. Michelle is the President of the National Space Society and mentor to the National Space Society Legal Fellows program. She was recently appointed to The Hague Institute for Global Justice Off-World Approach project. She is also the Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Space Law, the world’s oldest law journal dedicated to the legal problems arising out of human activities in outer space. She is dedicated to building the bridge to a multiplanetary future where humans live and thrive on Earth and throughout the Universe.

Richard Balkin

Professor in Leadership and Counselor Education at the University of Mississippi

Rick Balkin, Ph.D., LPC, NCC, has over 95 publications and is the author of Practicing Forgiveness: A Path Toward Healing, published by Oxford University Press, which focuses on a new model and measure for working through issues of forgiveness and conflict. He began practice as a professional counselor in 1993 and moved to academe in 2003. He is the recipient of the Extended Research Award from the American Counseling Association for his research spanning nearly two decades on adolescents in crisis and counseling outcomes. He currently serves as Editor-in-Chief for the International Journal for the Advancement of Counseling. Additionally, Rick is a Fellow of the American Counseling Association, past president for the Association for Assessment and Research in Counseling, and former editor of the Journal of Counseling & Development, the flagship journal of the American Counseling Association.

Shardé Thomas

Singer and Musician

Sharde Thomas is the granddaughter of the late Otha Turner, a well-known and studied fife player, with a marker on the Mississippi Blues Trail. She is the heir of her grandfather’s musical legacy and serves as the lead vocalist, fife player, and manager of the Rising Stars Fife & Drum Band. Thomas is on a mission to revitalize the tradition of African American Fife and Drum music.

Stephanie Showalter Otts

Director of the National Sea Grant Law Center at the University of Mississippi's School of Law

Stephanie Showalter Otts is an environmental attorney specializing in ocean and coastal law. As director of the federally funded Sea Grant program, she provides legal research, education, and outreach services to partners around the country to address ocean, coastal, and Great Lakes natural resources issues. Among other things, Sea Grant focuses on water resources to help the nation meet current and future challenges. Since 2018, Stephanie has been co-leading a Mississippi-based interdisciplinary team of researchers conducting community-engaged research and outreach to raise awareness of the risks of lead exposure through drinking water in Mississippi. The team’s innovative approach seeks to understand the problem by overlaying different disciplinary “lenses”: public health, civil engineering, law and policy, and population and development. The team’s research has revealed multi-faceted challenges that will require new policy and outreach approaches to address.