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MSU celebrations reflect King's philosophy of service to others
Contact: Kristin K. Anderson, University Relations, (517) 353-8819, ander284@msu.edu
EAST LANSING. Mich. – A visionary leader’s philosophy of providing service to others will be reflected in the 2007 Martin Luther King Jr., main celebratory activities at Michigan State University Jan. 13-15, and in college events throughout January and February.
Following the theme of the 27th annual event, “Lest We Forget: Building Community through Service and Collective Responsibility,” MSU will pay tribute to MSU faculty, staff and East Lansing area residents who participated in a first-of-its-kind educational program in the 1960s.
The Student Tutorial Education Project, or STEP, was an all-student administered outreach program. Members of the MSU community and area residents spent several weeks of their summers from 1966 to 1969 helping with educational projects at Rust College, a small private college for African Americans in Holly Springs. Miss., and in the Holly Springs community.
STEP participants and Rust College alumni will attend a reunion at the Kellogg Center during the university’s celebrations Jan. 13-15. Paul Herron, a Rust College student and graduate of MSU, will present reflections from fellow STEP students and Rust College alumni at 3 p.m. Jan. 13, at the Kellogg Hotel and Conference Center. For more on the reunion events, visit the Web at www.msucolloquy.net
“STEP, as well as other university celebratory activities, are reflective of the words and work of Dr. King, who knew well what it means to be a leader, and also one who makes conscious choices to promote the well-being of others,” said Paulette Granberry Russell, senior adviser to the president for diversity and director of the Office of Affirmative Action, Compliance and Monitoring.
“Just as leaders of the 1960s worked to make people aware of issues of the civil rights movement, we cannot forget our responsibility to our students, our future leaders who soon will be enriching the lives of community members throughout the world,” Russell said.
Other MSU celebratory events include:
 Sunday, Jan. 14
Jazz: Spirituals, Prayer & Protest,” with the theme of “A Change Is ‘Gonna’ Come,” featuring the MSU Jazz Band I under the direction of Rodney T. Whitaker, director of jazz studies. The concerts are at 3 p.m. and 7 p.m., in the Pasant Theatre of the Wharton Center for Performing Arts, located on Shaw Lane and Bogue Street.
General admission tickets are required, and available at no charge at the Wharton Center. For ticket information, call (517) 432-2000 or (800) WHARTON. For additional concert information, contact Kathleen Adams, School of Music, at (517) 353-9958, or e-mail adamsk10@msu.edu.
Monday, Jan. 15
Third Annual Student Leadership Conference, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., MSU Union Building. Registration will be on the first floor of the Union Building. The resource fair begins at 9 a.m., and the opening session will be at 9:45 a.m. Student groups will talk on such topics as building community partnerships, activism and unity, and leaders of the next social movements.
Lou Anna K. Simon, president of MSU, MSU students and STEP participants will be among the luncheon speakers. The luncheon starts at approximately 12:15 p.m.
 Gregory Reed, a Detroit attorney, will present the Student Leadership Conference keynote address at approximately 2:45 p.m.
Reed, a legal specialist in entertainment, intellectual properties, sports, corporate and tax law, is a collector and preservationist of historical documents, including the original Malcolm X autobiography. He has developed the first-of-its-kind music traveling exhibit covering 100 plus years, titled “100 Plus One, Celebrating America’s Music – Before Motown and Beyond.”
Reed, who received his bachelor and master’s degrees from MSU and his law degree from Wayne State University, co-authored two award-winning books with Rosa Parks – “Quiet Strength” and “Dear Mrs. Parks: A Dialogue with Today’s Youth,” which was awarded Michigan’s first National Association for the Advancement of Colored People award for outstanding literature.
The conference is open to the members of the MSU community and the general public. For more information or questions contact Fred Watson, conference coordinator, at (517) 355-8286 or e-mail at watsonf@msu.edu. Check for additional information as it becomes available at studentlife.msu.edu
"Into The Streets" Service Project is an opportunity for students to engage in volunteer community service experiences within the Greater Lansing area. Students will be volunteering at sites which serve children and youth, the homeless, and senior citizens, among others. Students begin registering at 9:15 a.m. in N-130 Business Complex of The Eli Broad College of Business.
Celebratory March to Beaumont Tower: The march will begin at approximately 3:30 p.m. at the MSU Union Building. Following a brief motivational speech at Beaumont Tower, participants are invited to go to the MSU Museum for a special viewing of the "Lest We Forget: The Triumph Over Slavery" exhibit. A bus will be available at the museum at 4:30 p.m. to take those attending the Celebratory Community Dinner at Akers Hall.
Celebratory Community Dinner: The 4th annual event will be held from 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. in the Akers Hall Dining Room.
David Hollister, president and chief executive officer of Prima Civitas Foundation and former mayor of Lansing, will be the community dinner keynote speaker.
The Prima Civitas Foundation, a new nonprofit organization based in Lansing, takes a regional approach to boosting Michigan’s economy and focuses on job opportunities for area residents in the life sciences, advanced manufacturing, alternative energies and homeland security.
Hollister, an MSU graduate, began his public service career as a school teacher in the Lansing School District. He also served as an Ingham County commissioner, representative in the Michigan State Legislature, and mayor of the city of Lansing. He was the director of the Michigan Department of Commerce and Industry Services from 2003 to 2005.
Dinner is free to members of the MSU community with a valid MSU ID (up to two tickets per ID card). There will be no on-site reservation. Additional dinner tickets are available for $7.50. Individuals must register for the dinner by 4 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 11. www.diversity.msu.edu/mlk/register_community_dinner.php
Thursday, Feb. 1
Veteran civil rights activists to speak at MSU: Five veteran activists, including former Michigan Supreme Court Justice and former Detroit Mayor Dennis Archer and Joseph Lowry, co-founder and president emeritus of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, will visit MSU in February, taking part in a lecture series honoring those who fought the civil rights battles of the 1950s and 1960s.
Sponsored by the MSU College of Osteopathic Medicine, the seventh annual Visiting Minority Faculty Lecture Series, “Slavery to Freedom: An American Odyssey,” will feature speakers each week during the month of February, Black History Month.
The first lecture, featuring Archer and Damon Keith, U.S. Court of Appeals Judge for the Sixth District, is at 5 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 1, in the MSU Kellogg Center.
For additional information, visit the Web at www.com.msu.edu/pub-rel/SlaverytoFreedom/STF_feb2007.pdf?article=26Oct2006-5
For additional information on college and other university events commemorating King’s life, visit the Web at www.diversity.msu.edu
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