January 8, 2008

Purdue to celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. Day with events

Curwood, executive producer and host of the award-winning program "Living On Earth," will speak at 7 p.m. in Stewart Center's Fowler Hall. Public Radio International distributes the program. The speech is among events connected with Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

The Boilers Care-and-Share nonfood donation drive continues through Wednesday (Jan. 14). For information, visit: https://www.purdue.edu/mlk2009. The items will be donated to Food Finders Food Bank Inc., which serves 18 Indiana counties, including Tippecanoe County.

Students, staff and community volunteers will participate in a Day of Service followed by an appreciation luncheon on Jan. 19.  Volunteers will begin checking in at 9 a.m. at Shreve Hall and will be served a continental breakfast. Their volunteer work, throughout the Greater Lafayette area, will begin at 10 a.m.  The luncheon will begin at 12:30 p.m. at Shreve Hall. Volunteers can register to help area nonprofit organizations by calling (765) 496-2450 by Thursday (Jan. 15).

The day will conclude with Curwood's speech during the university's celebration. Curwood's relationship with Public Radio International goes back to 1979 when he began as a reporter and host of "Weekend All Things Considered." Curwood also has worked as a print and television journalist and is the recipient of a shared Pulitzer Prize for his work while at the Boston Globe.

"Living On Earth" is broadcast on more than 260 stations nationwide and is heard in Pacific nations over the Armed Forces Radio Network. It has won many awards, including the Edward R. Murrow Award from the Radio-Television News Directors Association, a New York Festivals Award and a Society of Environmental Journalists Award. He is the president of the World Media Foundation Inc. and a lecturer in environmental science and public policy at Harvard University.

The Purdue Dreamer Award will be presented at this time as well.  This year's winners are James J. Foster, University Residences diversity and community coordinator, and Patricia A. Carlisle, equal opportunity/affirmative action officer and special assistant to the chancellor for Purdue University North Central.  The award, established in 2004, is given annually to an individual or organization within the Purdue community whose contributions embody Martin Luther King Jr.'s vision of service to others and further the university's commitment to diversity. The Office of the Vice President for Ethics and Compliance sponsors the award. The program also will include a performance by the Black Cultural Center's Black Voices of Inspiration.

The Martin Luther King Jr. celebration will continue at 7 p.m. Jan. 22 with a video presentation of "Environmental Racism" in the Lawson Computer Science Building, Room 1142.

Martin Luther King Jr. events are sponsored by the Office of the Vice President for Ethics and Compliance in collaboration with the Office of the Provost, Diversity Resource Office, Black Cultural Center, Office of the Vice President for Housing and Food Services, Latino Cultural Center, Native American Educational and Cultural Center and the Boiler Volunteer Network.

For information, call (765) 494-7307 or visit https://www.purdue.edu/mlk2009

Writer: Clyde Hughes, (765) 494-2073, jchughes@purdue.edu

Source: Alysa Christmas Rollock, vice president for ethics and compliance, (765) 494-5830

Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; purduenews@purdue.edu

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