Last year, a collaboration of Xavier undergraduate students
from diverse backgrounds succeeded in bringing the fi rst
TEDx, standing for Technology, Entertainment Design, (“x”is an independently organized TED event) to Xavier and plan on doing it again this year. This event is based on an annual
TED conference with the theme of “ideas worth spreading”
that is hosted by the nonprofit organization TED.
The idea behind TED is to allow speakers 18 minutes to talk
about an idea they personally feel is worth spreading and speeches can vary in topic from writing methods to stem cell research, from music to the economy. Once the initial TED conference was seen to be a well-attended
event, the TEDx program was started in order to create smaller conferences across the country. Last year was the fi rst time that a TEDx conference was held on Xavier’s campus and it was named TEDxXavierUniversity. This conference featured speakers including Andrew Gibson, a global brand manager at Procter and Gamble; Rashmi
Assudani PhD. an associate professor of Management and
Entrepreneurship for the Williams College of Business and Todd Henry, the founder and CEO of Accidental Creative.
Last year’s conference had the theme of “touching the hearts and minds of others through service, leadership and innovation.” This year’s board, consisting of seniors Michael Farwell and Nick Turon and juniors Sean Kallmeyer and Sam Seigle, has already started planning the event. They have established their mission as: “TEDxXavierUniversity is a student-led collaborative experience that inspires innovative
thinking, moving others to purposeful action” and have declared this year’s theme to be “Igniting Passion, Inspiring Minds.” The board has confirmed April 17 the date for the conference. For more information and updates on the event, visit their facebook page for TEDxXavierUniversity.
Tuesday, June 24, 2025