Missouri S&T’s Center for Creativity and Innovation will host two speakers Thursday, April 6, following the university’s second annual “trashion” show at noon in the atrium of the Havener Center. All events are free and open to the public.

The April 6 talks will include:

• “The Revolution is Dapper,” presented by Mindy Dawn Friedman, an advocate for nonbinary fashion, who will discuss the power of fashion as a driver of innovation and creativity, at 2 p.m. in the Carver Room of the Havener Center. This talk is co-sponsored by S&T’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion program, which is hosting a reception following the lecture.

• “Edge and Perfume,” presented by Megan Volpert, an author, academic and cultural critic who will discuss her book Perfume and the role of creativity in the fragrance industry, at 4 p.m. in the Turner Room of the Havener Center. Volpert’s book, Perfume, was published in 2022 by Bloomsbury as part of Object Lessons, its series of books about the hidden lives of ordinary things.

Mindy Dawn Friedman

Friedman as been featured on three New York Fashion Week runways and honored for answering calls to action on behalf of diversity, inclusion, equity and belonging.

Since earning a bachelor’s degree in English and education from the University of North Carolina, Friedman has held various project and product management roles. In addition to their current role as a senior producer with Halo Media, Friedman publishes thoughts and observations on an array of subjects at Dapper Mindy: Visual Activist.

Megan Volpert

Volpert is director of insights at Halo Media, assistant professor of interdisciplinary studies at Kennesaw State University and a fellow at the American Institute for Philosophical and Cultural Thought. She earned a master’s degree in writing from Louisiana State University and a bachelor’s degree in English studies from Illinois State University.

In addition to Perfume, Volpert has written or edited more than a dozen books on popular culture, including two Lambda Literary Award finalists and an American Library Association honoree. Two of her latest books are Straight Into Darkness: Tom Petty as Rock Mystic, published in 2022 by the University of Georgia Press, and Boss Broad, published in 2019 by Sibling Rivalry Press, for which she won Georgia Author of the Year.

Both speakers will serve as judges for the “trashion” show, during which students will compete for cash prizes, modeling garments they’ve designed and made using materials that are at least 90 percent reused and recycled.

About Missouri University of Science and Technology

Missouri University of Science and Technology (Missouri S&T) is a STEM-focused research university of over 7,000 students. Part of the four-campus University of Missouri System and located in Rolla, Missouri, Missouri S&T offers 101 degrees in 40 areas of study and is among the nation’s top 10 universities for return on investment, according to Business Insider. For more information about Missouri S&T, visit www.mst.edu.