Calls for MLK Award Nominations, Reservations, for the Sixteenth Annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Celebration Breakfast

Posted by: admin on September 24, 2012, No Comments

Nominations are being accepted for the 2013 Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Awards, which will be presented at the sixteenth annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Celebration Breakfast at East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania on Monday, January 21, 2013 at 8:00 a.m. in the Keystone Room. Nominees for the awards should exemplify two or more aspects of Dr. King’s philosophy of non-violence, equality, justice, cultural diversity, and respect for humanity.

Two awards will be presented: one to a member of the ESU community and one to a member of the community at large. ESU candidates must be currently employed by the university as a faculty member, staff member, administrator, and/or must be currently enrolled as a student for at least two full-time semesters with a minimum grade point average of 2.5. Candidates from the community must be current residents who are active in the local community. All nominations must include a short biography of the candidate and three letters of recommendation. Nomination forms are available online at www.esu.edu/mlk, or by visiting The Pocono Record (511 Lenox Street, Stroudsburg, Pa.) or ESU’s Henry A. Alumni Center (Smith Street, East Stroudsburg, Pa.). The deadline for submissions is December 7, 2012.

Keynote Speaker Announced
The keynote speaker for this year’s Celebration Breakfast is Retired Professor Charles Jones, J.D. Professor Jones worked closely with Dr. King on voter registration cases in Alabama while an attorney with the NAACP Legal Defense Fund from 1965-66. Raised in Chicago, Jones earned his juris doctorate from the University of Illinois and a master’s degree in public administration from Harvard. He was also a graduate of the John F. Kennedy School of Government.

In 1970, Jones joined the Rutgers law faculty where he taught courses in criminal law, criminal procedure, civil rights, constitutional law and race law theory. His research and writing have focused on free speech and hate crime. Now retired, Jones continues to write on various subjects.

Reserve Your Spot Today
Reservations are now being taken for the breakfast at a cost of $30 per person and $8 for ESU students, with proceeds to benefit the Gertrude Mary Smith Boddie Scholarship Fund. The Boddie Fund provides financial assistance to undergraduate students of color at ESU. In 1904, Ms. Boddie was the first African-American student to graduate from what was then known as East Stroudsburg State Normal School and ultimately became East Stroudsburg University in 1983.

As a result of the breakfast, two Boddie Scholarship awardees will each receive a $2,950 scholarship award for the Spring 2013 semester. Scholarship winners are selected based on their ability to demonstrate, through community service work or university involvement, a commitment to Dr. King’s philosophy of non-violence, equality, justice, cultural diversity, and a respect for humanity.

Breakfast organizers are also asking regional business organizations to consider becoming a sponsor of this community event. For more information visit www.esufoundation.org/mlksponsorship or contact Angela Beers at 570-422-3179 or abeers@esufoundation.org no later than December 3, 2012.

For more information about the Celebration Breakfast or for special accommodations, contact Cornelia Sewell-Allen, coordinator for multicultural affairs, at (570) 422-3896 or email at csewell@esu.edu.