Ithaca College

Posted on behalf of Roger "Doc" Richardson, Interim Chief Diversity Officer

Dear campus community,

As the 2016 spring semester begins and we celebrate the Martin Luther King holiday, it offers us a prime opportunity for reflection, renewal, and action. It enables us to think about the current social and racial issues we face and how we can come together to improve relationships.  It also provides a time to honor the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King. His contributions continue to inspire our work and offer us the opportunity to build upon the civil and human rights work he dedicated his life to and gave his life for.

During his lifetime, Dr. King’s work focused on what he called the Triple Evils: poverty, racism and militarism/war.  These structural and systemic problems continue to manifest themselves in different ways in our lives today, even on our campus. Combatting these evils requires our attention and urgency in order to improve relationships and grow opportunities for all.  

The federal MLK holiday is observed as a day of service and at Ithaca College we embrace this important time as a "Day on, not a day off." This year, IC will continue the tradition of celebrating the MLK holiday throughout the first week of classes. A series of events and educational programs will occur from January 25-30 and all students, faculty, staff, and community members are encouraged to attend.  

The week will kick-off with a moving presentation from our first-year students in the MLK Scholar Program about their experiences from the Civil Rights Tour they completed this past fall semester and a keynote address by umi selah, Organizer & Mission Director of the Dream Defenders. The week will conclude with IC’s annual MLK Day of Service.

Dr. King once said, "Everybody can be great, because anybody can serve."  The IC MLK Day of Service provides us the opportunity to give back and serve our local community. Students are encouraged to sign up for the MLK Day of Service here.

As we begin our 2016 spring semester, we face many challenges and we must work collaboratively to create solutions to our most pressing campus and national challenges. This is a critical time for positive engagement and action-oriented work.  I look forward to working with each of you to bridge our barriers, and create solutions to the challenges we face in order to move closer to Dr. King's vision of a "Beloved Community" at Ithaca College and beyond.

Please join me in this time of reflection, renewal and commitment to positive action. Our journey continues.

A full list of the MLK week events are listed on the Ithaca College website here.

Peace,
Doc 

Dr. Roger (Doc) Richardson
Interim Chief Diversity Officer and
Associate Provost for Inclusion and Engagement