Photo by Daniel Williams
Amanda Gorman, the youngest inaugural poet in U.S. history, will deliver the keynote address during Colgate University’s annual Arts, Creativity, and Innovation Weekend, on Friday, April 5, 2024. The lecture, sponsored in part through the Kerschner Family Series Global Leaders at Colgate, will be open to the public and stream live online. Details and ticket information will be made available at colgate.edu/ACIWeekend in the weeks ahead.
Gorman is a committed advocate for the environment, racial equality, and gender justice. Her activism and poetry have been featured on the Today Show, PBS Kids, and CBS This Morning, and in the New York Times, Vogue, and Essence. After graduating cum laude from Harvard University, she now lives in her hometown of Los Angeles. In 2017, Gorman was appointed the first-ever National Youth Poet Laureate by Urban Word — a program that supports Youth Poets Laureate in more than 60 cities, regions, and states nationally. Gorman’s groundbreaking performance of her poem “The Hill We Climb” at the 2021 presidential inauguration received international critical acclaim, inspiring millions of viewers with her message of hope, resilience, and healing.
Gorman appeared on the cover of TIME magazine in February 2021 and was the first poet to grace the cover of Vogue in its May 2021 issue. She was Porter Magazine’s July 2021 cover star and received The Artist Impact Award at the 2021 Backstage at the Geffen Awards. Gorman was one of five Variety Power of Women honorees and cover stars, as well one of three cover stars for Glamour’s Women of the Year. The special edition of her inaugural poem, “The Hill We Climb,” was published in March 2021. Her debut picture book, Change Sings, released in September 2021, and her poetry collection Call Us What We Carry in December 2021 — both debuting at #1 on New York Times, USA Today, and Wall Street Journal bestsellers lists.
Colgate’s Arts, Creativity, and Innovation Weekend program also includes a Thought Into Action entrepreneur showcase, student performances, and other events.
The Kerschner Family Series Global Leaders at Colgate, launched in 2007 and sponsored by Colgate’s Parents’ and Grandparents’ Fund, is an opportunity for the University to invite thought-provoking leaders to campus. Past lecture series speakers have included ballerina Misty Copeland; President Joe Biden; former Prime Minister of Israel Shimon Peres; Secretary of State Hillary Clinton; President Bill Clinton; Tony Blair, former prime minister of Great Britain; Felipe Calderón, former president of Mexico; and the Dalai Lama, spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhism.
Arts, creativity, and innovation is a centerpiece of Colgate’s Third-Century Plan, linking programs across the curriculum. For more information, visit thirdcentury.colgate.edu.