April 11, 2025
Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts (MCLA) is pleased to announce the speaker for
its 126th Commencement Exercises will be Kiese Laymon, an award-winning author, the
Libbie Shearn Moody Professor of English and Creative Writing at Rice University,
and a 2022 MacArthur Fellow. This year’s Commencement will be held Saturday, May 17,
2025, at 11 a.m., in the Amsler Campus Center Gymnasium.
In addition, MCLA will confer honorary doctorates to four outstanding individuals:
commencement speaker Kiese Laymon, NAACP Berkshire County Branch President Dennis
L. Powell, North Adams Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Barbara Malkas, and Massachusetts
State Representative Tricia Farley-Bouvier.
“I am excited to have Professor Kiese Laymon as the Commencement speaker for this
year’s ceremony,” said MCLA President James F. Birge, Ph.D. “His perspective on the
world and the value he places on liberal arts learning are more necessary than ever
as the College reaffirms its mission of providing a life-changing education to all
who seek it. I look forward to the inspiration and wisdom Professor Laymon will undoubtedly
share with our graduating class.”
Kiese Laymon, Doctor of Humane Letters
Kiese Laymon is a Black southern writer from Jackson, Mississippi. He is the Libbie
Shearn Moody Professor of English and Creative Writing at Rice University. Laymon
is the author of “Long Division,” which won the 2022 NAACP Image Award for fiction,
and the essay collection “How to Slowly Kill Yourself and Others in America,” named
a notable book of 2021 by the New York Times. Laymon’s bestselling memoir, “Heavy:
An American Memoir,” won the Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Nonfiction, the
Christopher Isherwood Prize for Autobiographical Prose, the Barnes and Noble Discovery
Award, and the Austen Riggs Erikson Prize for Excellence in Mental Health Media, and
was named one of the 50 Best Memoirs of the Past 50 Years by The New York Times. The
audiobook, read by the author, was named the Audible 2018 Audiobook of the Year. Laymon’s
newest book, published April 1, is “City Summer, Country Summer,” a lyrical picture
book about three Black boys on a summer trip down South.
Laymon is the recipient of 2020-2021 Radcliffe Fellowship at Harvard. He is at work
on the book “Good God” and a number of film and television projects. He is the founder
of The Catherine Coleman Literary Arts and Justice Initiative, based out of the Margaret
Walker Center at Jackson State University and aimed to aid local young people in becoming
more comfortable reading, writing, revising, and sharing on their own terms, in their
own communities. He is the co-host of Reckon True Stories with Deesha Philyaw, and
was awarded a MacArthur Fellowship in 2022.
Representative Tricia Farley-Bouvier, Doctor of Public Service
Tricia Farley-Bouvier was first elected to the Massachusetts House of Representatives
in 2011. She represents the city of Pittsfield, which has always been her home.
In the House, Representative Farley-Bouvier chairs the Joint Committee on Advanced
Information Technology, the Internet, and Cybersecurity. In the Progressive Caucus,
she serves as co-chair with Representative Jack Patrick Lewis to advance legislation
that promotes economic, social, and environmental justice.
Representative Farley-Bouvier works with legislators from 26 post-industrial cities
across the Commonwealth to promote legislation and funding to bring economic development
to our communities through the Gateway Cities Caucus. As a member of the Massachusetts
Caucus of Women Legislators, she serves as co-chair of the Sexual Violence Task Force
with Representative Natalie Higgins. By bringing advocates and experts together, supporting
legislation, and encouraging state legislators and staff to build relationships with
their local support services, the Task Force seeks to center the voices of survivors
and raise awareness about sexual violence.
Representative Farley-Bouvier graduated from Pittsfield High School, went on to earn
a bachelor’s degree in special and elementary education from Salve Regina University,
and then a master’s degree in education from the University of Connecticut.
Dr. Barbara Malkas, Doctor of Public Service
Dr. Barbara Malkas, North Adams Public Schools superintendent, is retiring in June
after serving as an educator for more than 38 years in the roles of science teacher,
school administrator, district administrator, deputy superintendent, and superintendent.
In each of her districts and roles, she has strived to improve the quality of education
for all students, particularly those representing underserved populations. Her own
experiences in education contribute to her belief that education is the key to lifelong
satisfaction and meaning.
Dr. Malkas holds a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from St. Joseph’s College in Brooklyn,
a master’s degree in science education from St. John’s University, and a doctorate
in educational leadership from the Sage Colleges of Albany. In 2021, she completed
her 200-hour certification as a Breathe for Change Facilitator and Yoga Teacher, and
completed an additional 300-hour training for her CYT-500 certification in the spring
of 2023.
Dr. Malkas serves as past president of the Massachusetts Association of School Superintendents,
president of the Massachusetts Breast Cancer Coalition, and treasurer of the Northern
Berkshire Community Coalition. She was identified as the Massachusetts Superintendent
of the Year in 2024 and was recently awarded the North Adams Women’s History Month
Hall of Fame Women of Distinction Award for 2025 and the Women in Educational Leadership
Network’s 2025 Bobbie D’Alessandro Leadership Award.
Dennis Powell, Doctor of Public Service
Dennis Lee Powell was born and raised in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, and graduated
from Pittsfield High School in 1963. He is the proud father of five and grandfather
of four.
Powell is a community activist and has served as president of the NAACP Berkshire
County Branch since 2015. He also co-chairs the branch’s Freedom Fund Committee, is
an Executive Committee member of the NAACP New England Area Conference and serves
on its Education Committee. Powell serves on the Pittsfield Licensing Board, the Pittsfield
4 Freedoms Coalition, the Greylock Community Development Advisory Board, and the Railroad
Street Youth Project Board. He is a past member of the Pittsfield School Committee,
the Steering Committee of the W.E.B. Du Bois Educational Series, and served as vice
chair and chair of the W.E.B. Du Bois Center for Freedom and Democracy.
Powell is a veteran of the United States Army, having completed his tour of duty in
1966. He graduated from the Culinary Institute of America (CIA) in 1968 and worked
in New York City at Hilton Hotel Properties. In 1972, he returned to the CIA and held
positions as instructor and administrator there from 1972 to 1986. In 1973, Powell
received the Culinary Teachers Association Recognition Award. In 1977, his culinary
team took first place, winning five gold medals, at the Salon Culinaire Mondial in
Basel, Switzerland, and the Diploma of Honor from the Société Culinaire Philanthropique.
In the 1990s, he received the Berkshire Center for Family and Children's Outstanding
Volunteer Award and was named by the South Advocate as Pittsfield’s MVP (Most Valuable
Person). In 2018, Berkshire Magazine recognized Powell as one of its “Berkshire 25,”
which is bestowed on the “Most Dedicated, Most Creative, Most Influential” people.
In 2020, he received the Black Excellence on the Hill Award from the Massachusetts
Black and Latino Legislative Caucus and was featured in The Berkshire Eagle's Executive
Spotlight Series. In 2021, he received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Nonprofit
Center of the Berkshires.
For more information about MCLA’s Commencement ceremony, visit mcla.edu/commencement.
About MCLA
At MCLA, we’re here for all — and focused on each — of our students. Classes are taught
by educators who care deeply about teaching, and about seeing their students thrive
on every level of their lives. In every way possible, the experience at MCLA is designed
to elevate our students as individuals, leaders, and communicators, fully empowered
to make their impressions on the world. In addition to our 130-year commitment to
public education, we have fortified our dedication to equitable academic excellence.
MCLA has appeared on U.S. News & World Report’s list of Top Ten Public Colleges for
10 consecutive years, earning the No. 6 spot on the list of Top Public Liberal Arts
Schools in the nation for 2025, after earning the No. 7 spot the prior three years.
The College’s focus on affordable education and economic prosperity is reflected in
additional 2025 U.S. News rankings: No. 5 for Top Performer on Social Mobility for
liberal arts colleges in the state and No. 2 for Top Performer on Social Mobility
for public liberal arts colleges in the country. These rankings measure how well schools
graduate students who receive Federal Pell Grants. Learn more at www.mcla.edu.
