Each spring, the College of Liberal Arts engages a speaker for the Distinguished Scholars presentation aimed at drawing attention to one or more of the disciplines within the liberal arts, to appeal to the general public and to faculty and students by illustrating high intellectual achievement. Programs are of general humanistic appeal with interdisciplinary topics. The speaker is asked to make one public presentation and one presentation to students.
Upcoming Presentation
Neepwaantiinki 'Partners in Learning' - the Miami Tribe of Oklahoma and Miami University
April 19, 2023
2 p.m. | Kleymeyer Hall
Neepwaantiinki - partners in learning - is the Myaamia word used to describe the unique, reciprocal relationship between the Miami Tribe of Oklahoma and Miami University. This partnership is expressed through a shared commitment to neepwaantiinki, learning from each other, which has played a key role in the Miami Tribe's language revitalization efforts and has led to the first generation in nearly 100 years learning to speak the Myaamia language.
Learn more about the Miami Tribe of Oklahoma at miamination.com.
About our presenter:
George Ironstrack has participated in Myaamia language renewal projects as both a student and a teacher since the mid-1990s.
Originally from Chicago, George, Tamise, and their children Kai, Mirin, and Jordi all make their home in Oxford, OH. George is a citizen of the Miami Tribe of Oklahoma and has assisted in the organization and administration of the Tribe’s Eewansaapita Summer Educational Experience since its inception in 2005.
George received an M.A. in Origins and History of the United States from the Department of History at Miami University. His graduate work centered on the Miami Indian village of Pickawillany, which was located in western Ohio near the city of Piqua.
George continues to regularly research and write about Myaamia history. Examples of his work can be found on the Myaamia Community History and Ecology Blog: Aacimotaatiiyankwi. As both a tribal educator and a former public school teacher, George is also interested in the study of indigenous pedagogical practices and specifically Myaamia Neepwaantiinki (Miami Education).
Series Coordinator
Getting here
Kleymeyer Hall is located in the lower level of the Liberal Arts Center, next to the McCutchan Art Gallery, on the west side of the campus.
Past Presentations
| 2021-2022 |
Marisa Kwiatkowski and Tim Evans will discuss the USA Gymnastics’ sexual abuse scandal, including how they exposed Larry Nassar’s sexual abuse and USA Gymnastics’ negligence in failing to protect its gymnasts from a serial sexual predator. Presentation: "An Evening with Marisa Kwiatkowski and Tim Evans - Reporters Who Helped Expose Larry Nassar and USA Gymnastics." See the presentation. |
| 2017-2018 |
Dr. Alida Merlo from the Indiana University of Pennsylvania, Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice. Presentation: "Criminal Justice Policy Reform: How the Court Transformed Juvenile Justice" |
| 2014-2015 | Dr. Sean Safford, director of the Master of Public Affairs Program and associate professor of economic sociology at Sciences Po in Paris |
| 2013-2014 | Dr. John Corvino, chair of the Philosophy Department at Wayne State University |
| 2012-2013 | Terry Schreiber, director of Tony-nominated play K2, The Trip Back Down on Broadway |
| 2011-2012 | Dr. W. Robert Connor, Senior Advisor, The Teagle Foundation |
| 2010-2011 | Barbara Rosenwein, Professor of History at Loyola University in Chicago, Illinois |
| 2009-2010 | Alan Cheuse, National Public Radio’s “Voice of Books” and professor of English at George Mason University, teaching in their Creative Writing Program |
| 2008-2009 | Dr. Roy F. Fox, Professor of English Education at the University of Missouri-Columbia |
| 2007-2008 | John David Mooney, an artist, who is the founder and artistic director of the John David Mooney Foundation |
| 2006-2007 | Dr. S. Ravi Rajan, Associate Professor of Environmental Studies and Provost of College Eight at the University of California, Santa Cruz |
| 2005-2006 | Dr. Nancy Tuana, Professor of Philosophy and Women's Studies, Penn State University |
| 2004-2005 | Dr. Alan Dawley, Professor of History at the College of New Jersey |
| 2003-2004 | Dr. Wolfgang Mieder, professor of German and Folklore at the University of Vermont |
| 2002-2003 | Dr. Judy C. Pearson, professor of communication, director of the doctoral program, and associate dean of the college of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences at North Dakota State University |
| 2001-2002 | E. Ethelbert Miller, Poet and Humanities Lecturer |
| 2000-2001 | E. Mark Cummings, Notre Dame |
| 1999-2000 | Judy Chicago, Feminist, Artist |
| 1998-1999 | William Corsaro, IU Sociologist |
| 1997-1998 | Francis Fukuyama, George Mason U. Political Scientist |
| 1994-1995 | Jonathan Brown, Historian at the U. of Texas |
| 1993-1994 | Uwe Timm, German author and Screenwriter |
| 1991-1992 | Tony Jones, School of the Chicago Art Institute |
| 1990-1991 | Dale Van Etta, Investigative Reporter |
| 1989-1990 | Nikki Giovanni, Poet |
| 1988-1989 | Richard Cohen, Columnist |
| 1987-1988 | Allan Bloom, Philosopher |
| 1986-1987 | Karl Haas, Musician, Broadcaster |
| 1985-1986 | John Ciardi, Poet |