NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — Award-winning author and Rice University professor Kiese Laymon will be the speaker at the 126th commencement exercises at Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts.

 

This year's commencement will be held Saturday, May 17, at 11 a.m., in the Amsler Campus Center Gymnasium.  

 

In addition, MCLA will confer honorary doctorates to Laymon, NAACP Berkshire County Branch President Dennis L. Powell, North Adams Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Barbara Malkas, and state Rep. 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. "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, Miss. He is the Libbie Shearn Moody Professor of English and Creative Writing at Rice and a 2022 MacArthur Fellow. He is the co-host of "Reckon True Stories" podcast with Deesha Philyaw. 

 

Laymon's debut novel "Long Division" won the 2022 NAACP Image Award for fiction and his essay collection "How to Slowly Kill Yourself and Others in America" was named a notable book of 2021 by The New York Times. 

 

His 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.

 

He 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.

 

Rep. Tricia Farley-Bouvier, Doctor of Public Service

 

Tricia Farley-Bouvier was first elected to the state House of Representatives in 2011. She represents the city of Pittsfield, which has always been her home. Farley-Bouvier chairs the Joint Committee on Advanced Information Technology, the Internet, and Cybersecurity. In the Progressive Caucus, she serves as co-chair with Rep. Jack Patrick Lewis to advance legislation that promotes economic, social, and environmental justice.

 

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 Rep. 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.

 

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.

 

 

Barbara Malkas, Doctor of Public Service

 

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.? 

 

Malkas holds a bachelor's degree in chemistry from St. Joseph's College in Brooklyn, N.Y., 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.? 

 

She is a 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 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 also 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 was vice chair and chair of the W.E.B. Du Bois Center for Freedom and Democracy.

 

Powell is an Army veteran, completing his tour of duty in 1966. He graduated from the Culinary Institute of America 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 here.