Daniel Swinton
Daniel Swinton Daniel Swinton challenged students’ notions of what constitutes sexual assault by presenting a court case, and asking them — the jury — how they would rule. Mr. Swinton visited campus as the 2015 Talbot Speaker. Mr. Swinton is managing partner of the National Center for Higher Education Risk Management, a multidisciplinary risk management consulting firm based in Malvern, Pennsylvania. A specialist in Title IX, bystander intervention, and sexual assault policy and law, he is the author of several peer-reviewed articles on the subjects. “Some students on college...
Read MoreDr. Reza Aslan
Dr. Reza Aslan Religious scholar Dr. Reza Aslan visited campus as the Class of 1952 Endowed Speaker for Religious Understanding. Dr. Aslan is a professor of creative writing at the University of California, Riverside, and serves on the board of trustees for the Chicago Theological Seminary. He is the author of bestselling Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth. He is also the founder of AslanMedia — a social media network for news and entertainment about the Middle East and the world — and co-founder and chief creative officer of BoomGen Studios. Dr. Aslan travels the...
Read MorePatricia Smith
Patricia Smith Award-winning poet Patricia Smith read to students from her work as the spring’s Bingham Visiting Writer. Ms. Smith has written six books of poetry, including Shoulda Been Jimi Savannah (2012), which won the Lenore Marshall Prize from the Academy of American Poets; Blood Dazzler (2008), a chronicle of the human and environmental cost of Hurricane Katrina, which was nominated for a National Book Award; and Teahouse of the Almighty, a 2005 National Poetry Series selection. Her work has appeared in Poetry, the Paris Review, the New York Times, and in both Best American Poetry...
Read MoreMaysoon Zayid
Maysoon Zayid — comedian, actress and activist — was the 2015 Margaret A. Johnson Speaker. Born with cerebral palsy, Ms. Zayid is a powerful advocate for the disabled. She told stories about growing up in New Jersey, where she was accepted for who she was. But as a theater major in college and a struggling actress pursuing a career, Ms. Zayid realized that disabled people were almost nonexistent in the entertainment industry. She has appeared on “Countdown with Keith Olbermann,” Comedy Central, PBS, CNN, HBO, MTV, ABC and Huffington Post Live. She is a recurring columnist at...
Read MoreMichael A. McKenna
Mike McKenna, network manager of Milton’s Academy Technology Services department, delivered this year’s Veterans Day assembly speech to students as a proud and accomplished veteran of the United States Marine Corps. Growing up in Manville, Rhode Island — home to the country’s first World War I monument — he knew and admired many American veterans. Enlisting at age 19, Mr. McKenna spent ten years as a U.S. Marine. “The military can provide you with invaluable experiences: an education, leadership opportunities, problem-solving and planning skills, just to name a few. In the...
Read MoreJunot Díaz
Pulitzer Prize–winning author Junot Díaz spoke with students not only as a creative writer, but also as a Dominican American immigrant and an activist. Hosted by Milton’s student Latino Association, Mr. Díaz answered questions from a packed room of students, on topics ranging from the writing process to the response to Ferguson, from gender equity to immigration. Mr. Díaz is the author of several books, including The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, for which he earned the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 2008. He is a creative writing professor at MIT and the fiction editor of Boston...
Read More