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TEDxSUNYPotsdam Marks ‘A Time to Innovate,’ with 10 Talks Planned

February 9, 2022

Tickets On Sale Now for Third Annual TEDxSUNYPotsdam, Set for March 19 

Organizer Joshua Vink speaks at a past TEDxSUNYPotsdam event. The 2022 TEDx event will focus on “A Time to Innovate,” with a slate of speakers set for March 19. For tickets and to find out more, visit www.tedxsunypotsdam.com.

Tickets are on sale now for the third annual TEDxSUNYPotsdam, which is back in person on Saturday, March 19, set to be held from 7 to 10 p.m. in the Performing Arts Center’s Black Box Theater. This year’s theme is “A Time to Innovate,” and talks will focus on how departments and industries on campus are using innovative ideas and practices to address the needs of our challenging time.  

Ten SUNY Potsdam faculty members and students are scheduled to speak, along with one student speaker from neighboring Clarkson University, with talks focused on a wide variety of topics. The event will feature a post-show question and answer session with all the TEDx speakers. 

SUNY Potsdam’s first in-person TEDx event was held in 2019, focusing on “The Future of Creativity,” followed by a virtual presentation in 2020, with the theme “Identifying Moments.Both were well-attended events with local, regional and international speakers. These talks are now posted online at the TEDx website and on YouTube, and some have received thousands of views.  

Marking “A Time to Innovate,” this year’s talks focus on topics as diverse as artificial intelligence, agriculture and biodiversity, and campus violence and sexual assault.  

The slate of speakers includes: 

  • Aycil Ilayda Basmanoglu ’22, psychology and biology major, who will speak about mental health 

  • Madison Bray-Trophia ’22, arts management major with minors in music business and anthropology, “Me Too Edu: A Title IX Task Force” 

  • Karen Caldwell, assistant professor of business administration, “Learning Out Loud 

  • Katherine Cleary, assistant professor of environmental studies, “Food for the Future 

  • Anastasia Ivanova ’22, a geology and geographic information science (GIS) major with minors in environmental studies and wilderness education, “Understanding the Villain: Cross-Cultural MIScommunications Between the United States and Russia, and Their Effects on Cinema 

  • Alif Jakir, computer science at data analytics student at Clarkson University, “Cognitive Automation/Augmentation” 

  • Seon Levius, assistant professor of technology, “Coaching Business” 

  • Simisola A. Macauley ’22, international studies and anthropology major, “No Wahala: The Struggle for Gendered Language as a Nigerian-American” 

  • Emma Massa ’21, history and psychology major, “Our Brains on Trauma: Emotions and Implications from the Perspective of a Student” 

  • Mallory Wittlin ’22, English composition and communication major, “Reconnecting Broken Links: The Importance of Cultural Connection for Adoptees” 

  • Alexandra Zagara ’23, music education major, “Changing Language in Music Education” 

Each talk must be under 18 minutes and will be filmed with state-of-the-art studio cameras in the Performing Arts Center, in front of a live audience of up to 100 members (a TEDx rule).  

The event is hosted by the Arts Management Program and the Department of Theatre and Dance, and aims to serve both college and community by giving a platform for the rich ideas and research practices happening at SUNY Potsdam. A student team of technicians, crew and front of house members, along with student interns from Community Performance Series, will help support the event.  

TEDxSUNYPotsdam tickets are $15 for general admission and $10 for faculty, staff  and students, and $5 for senior citizens (aged 65 and older) and youth (aged 12 and under). Tickets can be purchased through the Community Performance Series Box Office, at www.cpspotsdam.org, by calling (315) 267-2277, at the door, or by visiting the box office in the Performing Arts Center Lobby.  

TED (Technology, Entertainment and Design) is a nonprofit organization “devoted to spreading ideas, usually in the form of short, powerful talks (18 minutes or less).” With the international acclaim of TED, TEDx events are smaller locally-organized events where speakers give informed and personalized talks and contain Ideas Worth Spreading,” a guiding principle of TED.  

About SUNY Potsdam:  

Founded in 1816, The State University of New York at Potsdam is one of America’s first 50 colleges—and the oldest institution within SUNY. Now in its third century, SUNY Potsdam is distinguished by a legacy of pioneering programs and educational excellence. The College currently enrolls approximately 3,000 undergraduate and graduate students. Home to the world-renowned Crane School of Music, SUNY Potsdam is known for its challenging liberal arts and sciences core, distinction in teacher training and culture of creativity. To learn more, visit www.potsdam.edu. 

For Media Inquiries

Alexandra Jacobs Wilke

jacobsam@potsdam.edu 315-267-2918

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