We will continue to update this page with any changes to our Messina events calendar. Students can also find event information and registration on The Bridge!
Messina co-sponsored theme-wide and supported events are open to all Loyola community members and the surrounding Baltimore community unless otherwise noted.
January Theme-Wide Events
February Theme-Wide Events
March Theme-Wide Events
April Theme-Wide Events
Messina Supported Events
Thursday, January 20
MLK Convocation
Bestselling author Michelle Alexander will deliver Loyola University Maryland’s annual Martin Luther King, Jr., Convocation address on Thursday, Jan. 20, 2022, at 6:30 p.m., via livestream. “The New Jim Crow: An Evening with Michelle Alexander” convocation will be moderated by Karsonya Wise Whitehead, Ph.D., founding director of the Karson Institute for Race, Peace & Social Justice and associate professor of communication and African and African American Studies at Loyola.
Alexander will offer new perspectives while discussing her critically acclaimed bestseller, The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness, which examines racial injustice in the modern legal system and calls us all to action for improved human rights in America.
This virtual event is free and open to the public, but advance registration is required by Jan. 13, 2022. Read the full press release.
For more information, please call 410-617-2082 or write to OfficeOfTheCEIO@loyola.edu. Closed captioning will be provided.
Sponsored by Messina and the Office of Equity and Inclusion
A Common Text and theme-wide event
Loyola community members may access a recording of the event here. You must enter your Loyola username and password to access the recording.
Thursday, February 10
Common Text Gallery Exhibit: Reception and Artist Remarks
Allegory, Artist & Society
Allegory, Artist & Society provides a broad insight of the artistic practice, vision, and range of painter and author Chris Wilson through painting, drawing, and filmmaking. Wilson is deeply invested in the creative process of transforming small, personal moments into expressive and emotional visions, while capturing frustrations of surviving the turmoil that haunts a person in a marginalized community. At the same time the artwork invites the viewer to share in an event that they most likely will never experience, giving them the opportunity to take time to consider a life that differs from their own.
A Common Text and theme-wide event
Exhibit reception event hours: 6-8 p.m., Julio Fine Arts Gallery
January 18 - February 21, 2022
Common Text Gallery Exhibition: Allegory, Artist & Society
More information about this exhibition can be found on the Julio Fine Arts Gallery website.
Gallery hours:
Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday: 10 a.m. - 4 p.m.
Thursday: 10 a.m. - 8 p.m.
Saturday and Sunday: noon - 4 p.m.
Monday, February 7
Loyola University Welcomes Edward L. Ayers: The Discovery of America, 1810-1860
(Phi Beta Kappa Visiting Scholars Lecture)
"The Discovery of America will tell how, out of so many potential histories, the one we call American history grew. Images from the early years of the nineteenth century—of log cabins and wagon trains, of plantations and fugitive slaves, of Andrew Jackson and Abraham Lincoln, of the Trail of Tears and the Alamo, of Uncle Tom’s Cabin and Leaves of Grass—often stand as the beginning of the United States we recognize today. So familiar have these images become, in fact, that it is easy to forget where they came from, how they fit together, what price they exacted, what promise they possessed, and what parts of the story they left out. Without that recognition, they hold unexamined power over us, limiting our imagination and our sense of possibility. This lecture will explore that landscape, showing how a broad range of people felt they “discovered” the United States taking shape around them.
Professor Ayers has been named National Professor of the Year, received the National Humanities Medal from President Obama at the White House, won the Bancroft, Beveridge, and Lincoln prizes in American history, was a finalist for the National Book Award and the Pulitzer Prize, served as president of the Organization of American Historians, and worked as the founding chair of the board of the American Civil War Museum. He is executive director of New American, dedicated to sharing innovative work in words, maps, audio, and video with broad audiences and the nation’s schools. His latest book is Southern Journey: The Migrations of the American Past, 1790–2020. Formerly, he served as Dean of Arts and Sciences at the University of Virginia.
Co-sponsored by Messina and Phi Beta Kappa - Epsilon of Maryland. Since 1956, the Phi Beta Kappa Visiting Scholar Program has been offering undergraduates the opportunity to spend time with some of America's most distinguished scholars. The purpose of the program is to contribute to the intellectual life of the campus by making possible an exchange of ideas between the Visiting Scholars and the resident faculty and students. "
Sponsored by Messina
A theme-wide event
7 p.m., Virtual Event
Recording Available Here
Thursday, February 10
Common Text Gallery Exhibit: Reception and Artist Remarks
Allegory, Artist & Society
Allegory, Artist & Society provides a broad insight of the artistic practice, vision, and range of painter and author Chris Wilson through painting, drawing, and filmmaking. Wilson is deeply invested in the creative process of transforming small, personal moments into expressive and emotional visions, while capturing frustrations of surviving the turmoil that haunts a person in a marginalized community. At the same time the artwork invites the viewer to share in an event that they most likely will never experience, giving them the opportunity to take time to consider a life that differs from their own.
A Common Text and theme-wide event
Exhibit reception event hours: 6-8 p.m., Julio Fine Arts Gallery
Tuesday, February 17
Ready for Anything Humanities Event
Hear from alumni about how they navigated their paths to their careers, what they have learned about themselves, and how the Humanities-based core has impacted them in their lives and careers. Also, have the opportunity to explore your own path.
Sponsored by the Career Center, the Writing Department, and Messina
A theme-wide event
3-4:30 p.m., Virtual Event
Monday, February 28
The Value of a Prison Education featuring Dr. Drew Leder and John Woodland
Dr. Drew Leder, John Woodland and Sarah Leder will discuss the value of prison education and Loyola's own long-standing involvement in prison education. Come, listen, and ask questions about prison life and the problems with our criminal justice system. Drew Leder, Professor of Philosophy, has authored books with and about imprisoned individuals. John Woodland has earned his degree from Coppin State University while in prison, having been recently released. Sarah Leder graduated from Loyola in 2017, received my Masters in Social Work from the University of Michigan in 2019, and now works in the federal government as a Presidential Management Fellow with the Veterans Health Administration.
Sponsored by Messina
A theme-wide event
7-8 p.m.,4th Floor Program Room
Event Recording Available Here
Thursday, March 3
How to Retire a Millionaire
An entertaining and informative session with Dr. JP Krahel on financial literacy covering a variety of topics: Learn how taxes work, how to make debt less painful, and why now is the best time to start planning for retirement.
Sponsored by Messina
A theme-wide event
6-7 p.m., McGuire Hall West
Tuesday, March 15
Majors and Minors Fair
First-year students can learn more about potential majors and the major declaration process. Students of all years are welcome to attend to have your questions answered about second majors, minors, accelerated programs, and Career Center resources.
Sponsored by Messina
A theme-wide event
11 a.m.-2 p.m., McGuire Hall
Monday, March 21
Loyola University Maryland welcomes Chris Wilson,
Author of the 2021-2022 Common Text
Born and raised in Washington D.C, Chris grew up under extremely difficult circumstances. Poverty, drug addiction, and gun violence was the everyday norm in his community. At the age of 17, he was charged with a crime, convicted, and sentenced to natural life in prison. It was during times of isolation that he decided to not only to turn his life around, but to make a difference in the lives of people who currently live in poverty-stricken communities similar to his childhood surroundings. “Many years ago, I committed my life to self-improvement and helping others. I sat in a dark cell and wrote up what I now call my Master Plan. A plan to build a business empire and help others.”
Sponsored by Messina
A Common Text and theme-wide event
7 p.m., McGuire Hall
Recording Available Here
Monday, March 28
How to Retire a Millionaire
An entertaining and informative session with Dr. JP Krahel on financial literacy covering a variety of topics: Learn how taxes work, how to make debt less painful, and why now is the best time to start planning for retirement.
Sponsored by Messina
A theme-wide event
6-7 p.m., McGuire Hall West
Wednesday, March 30
One Question
We have one question for you. Just one. But your answer, a short film, and a conversation with a great panel of speakers will make this an event that you'll keep thinking about.
Sponsored by the Writing Department and Messina
A theme-wide event
7 p.m., McGuire Hall East
Wednesday, April 20
Ella Baker Day Koffee & Konvo
Ella Baker Day is annual event that occurs at various locations all over the country as a way to honor and celebrate Ms. Baker's lifetime of community organizing and civil rights activism on behalf of communities (and especially women) of color. Ella Baker Day was brought to Loyola for the first time in April 2017. We are excited to present continued annual participation and engagement from both the University and the greater Baltimore community.
Speaker information coming soon!
Sponsored by Messina and the Karson Institute for Race, Peace, and Social Justice
A theme-wide event
12-1 p.m., Fernandez Center Cafe
Thursday, April 21
Loyola at The Senator Theatre:
Biggest Little Farm
Filmmaker John Chester chronicles the eight-year quest that he and his wife, Molly Chester, embark on as they trade city living for 200 acres of barren farmland and a dream to harvest in harmony with nature. Through dogged perseverance and embracing the opportunity provided by nature's conflicts, the Chester’s unlock and uncover a biodiverse design for living that exists far beyond their farm, its seasons, and our wildest imagination. Featuring breathtaking cinematography, captivating animals, and an urgent message to heed Mother Nature’s call, THE BIGGEST LITTLE FARM provides us all a vital blueprint for better living and a healthier planet.
Sponsored by the Chemistry Department and Messina
A theme-wide event
7 p.m., The Senator Theatre (5904 York Road)
A shuttle will run in a continuous loop from 5 p.m. - 7 p.m., and 8:30 p.m. - 10 p.m. between the Loyola Notre Dame Library shuttle stop and the Senator Theatre for this event.
Asynchronous Event - Available Anytime
Film Streaming: Just Mercy
A powerful and thought-provoking true story, “Just Mercy” follows young lawyer Bryan Stevenson (Jordan) and his history-making battle for justice. After graduating from Harvard, Bryan might have had his pick of lucrative jobs. Instead, he heads to Alabama to defend those wrongly condemned, with the support of local advocate Eva Ansley (Larson). One of his first, and most incendiary, cases is that of Walter McMillian (Foxx), who, in 1987, was sentenced to die for the notorious murder of an 18-year-old girl, despite a preponderance of evidence proving his innocence and the fact that the only testimony against him came from a criminal with a motive to lie. In the years that follow, Bryan becomes embroiled in a labyrinth of legal and political maneuverings and overt and unabashed racism as he fights for Walter, and others like him, with the odds and the system stacked against them.
To access the free film, please use the following link and your Loyola login information.
Access Just Mercy here!
Sponsored by Messina
A theme-wide event
Asynchronous Streaming