CLARION UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA
Inter-Office Correspondence

Date:

June 3, 2008

To:

Dr. Joseph P. Grunenwald, President
Dr. Jocelind Gant, Assistant to the President for Social Equity

From:

Mr. Rogers J. Laugand III, Co-Chair, Martin Luther King Jr. Committee
Dr. Greg Goodman, Co-Chair, Martin Luther King Jr. Committee

Re:

2007-2008 Martin Luther King Jr. Program Report

Cc:

Dr. Jeffrey Waple, Director, Office of Campus Life

PROJECT TITLE
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Committee
“The Dream: Forty Years Later”
Special Events 2007-2008
Committee Members:

Ex-officio Member:

Mr. Rogers J. Laugand III, Co-Chair
Dr. Greg Goodman, Co-Chair
Ms. Susan Bornak
Mr. Amil Cook
Mr. Mark Franchino
Dr. Robert Girvan
Mr. Scott Horch
Ms. Sandy Kifer

Dr. Jocelind Gant

MAIN SOURCE OF FUNDING: Office of the President
Other Co-Sponsors: Office of Minority Student Services, Dean of Education & Human
Services, Dean of Arts & Sciences, Office of Social Equity, Office of Greek Life, Office of
Campus Life, Women’s Studies, Hip-Hop Symposium, Black Student Union, and
University Art Gallery.
ABSTRACT:
The Martin Luther King Jr. Committee coordinated sponsored and co-sponsored
university-wide and community programs which were meant to nurture Clarion’s socially
diverse campus and community climate. The project was designed to enhance and
encourage awareness of Dr. King’s beliefs and actions as inspiration for out efforts in
fostering a just, multicultural and understanding community. The commemorative
endeavors took place from September to April.
GOAL STATEMENT:
The Martin Luther King Jr. Committee maintains that the breadth of Dr. King’s heritage
as a national and international leader is a largely untapped resource. Consequently, we
provided a series of programs that focused on Dr. King’s dream of achieving a truly
inclusive and humane community. Some interests of Dr. King that celebrate the
enriching potential of social diversity include equitable education opportunities, ending
human violence, moderating intolerance, expanding good work opportunities for all
citizens, and the moral/ethical foundations of human behavior. Programs developed in
these domains in cooperation with various academic and student affairs departments
seemed appropriate for the committee to cooperatively sponsor.

2

OBJECTIVES:
To emphasize the positive effect of a just, multicultural and accepting environment, in
the spirit of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., the committee focused on its ability to:
(a) Identify scholars, activists and performers whose work, in our opinion,
contributed to the celebration of human diversity. As appropriate,
some of these persons were invited to Clarion University to share their
ideas abnd experiences with the campus community through various
educational modes and genres.
(b) Ensure that these guests were exposed to as many students, faculty,
staff and community members as possible to encourage
“conversations of respect” (Hill, 1999) and build bridges toward
human harmony. These discourses focused on the concept of social
equity as represented in Dr. King’s thoughts and beliefs as well as by
his participation in social change organizations.
(c) Support responsible social activism to enhance the social justice that
Dr. King’s example represented. The range of possible involvement
was demonstrated by the variety of guests supported by the
committee.
TARGET GROUPS:
The target groups were those individuals who were misinformed about those who were
different from them and lacked the understanding and appreciation of a diverse
community. The committee sponsored programs which served the purpose of breaking
down stereotypical images about “others” among the administrative, student, faculty,
staff and community bodies. In the final analysis, the campus and community population
was targeted.
THE PROBLEM:
Clarion’s campus community has worked with varying degrees of success to create a
curriculum and complimentary programs which serve to “educate the total student
regardless of race” (Taylor, 1986). This statement infers, however, that minority status
has been often conceived as residing in only one marginalized social category, such as
race or gender. Dr. King’s concern with the content of one’s character and the nature of
power in today’s society transcends a focus on narrow bases of inequality. Instead he
envisioned constructing a broader, more complex and inclusive, concept of social equity.
The Martin Luther King Jr. series is meant to further educate the campus and the
community regarding the concerns for uniqueness, empowerment, commonality, justice,
and interdependence that Dr. King recognized as crucial in order to fully celebrate the
diversity of the human experience in a pluralistic and democratic society. One of our
main concerns is the need for us to unify as a single community.

3

METHODOLOGY:
The committee met objective (a) in the following manner: During the academic year, we
worked with various departments and organizations to suggest, coordinate initiatives,
and help sponsor appropriate programs. Each scholar, activist and/or performer
addressed a theme found in Dr. King’s teachings. The following criteria were utilized in
the selection process:
(1) Preference was accorded to resource persons of a particular minority
status, or to the interaction of more than one marginalized category.
However, all persons who clearly demonstrated Dr. King’s wide
interest in social equity were utilized as a resource to the committee.
In addition, those studying various topics that spoke to civil rights
were invited to share their knowledge and/or experience.
(2) Overall, the resource persons included both sexes, various religions
and races. Additionally, they were representative of disciplines and
pursuits that provided substance to Dr. King’s thinking, e.g., history,
equity, education, and social justice.
For each visit, contracts were negotiated via the candidate’s agent or through personal
contacts in an effort to get the most favorable terms for Clarion University and the Martin
Luther King Jr. Committee.
Our approach to objective (b) was as follows: The manner of exposure and interaction
varied depending upon the type of presentation and arrangements made by the primary
sponsor. We encouraged the resource persons to be invited to attend classes in their
respective fields and to interact informally with students, administrators, faculty, and
staff. The Martin Luther King Jr. Committee functioned as follows:
(1) Identified and assisted other groups in finding respective scholars and
performers.
(2) Developed program activities and assisted others when possible.
(3) Provided follow-up actions to related programs.
(4) Assessed the effectiveness of sponsored programs.
(5) Promoted and encouraged the participation of campus and
community members. The committee ensured that the series was
broadly advertised through newspapers, radio, posters, handbills,
faculty, email and a comprehensive brochure.
Objective (c) was met by making available information about participation in
organizations and activities that related to the relevant theme(s). Each guest or group
was asked to suggest appropriate solutions to problems of social inequality as a crucial
part of every presentation.
FEASIBILITY AND COST-EFFECTIVENESS:
The prospects of keeping this project successful are good, especially with respect to the
presence of qualified and committed personnel at Clarion to assist in implementing each
year’s version of the series. The major constraint for the proposed Dr. King Committee
program during a particular year is fiscal. It can be quite difficult to secure reasonably

4

priced programs, high quality guests interacting at appropriate times with significant
numbers of the campus community. Extensive research, negotiating, and organization
on our part, coupled with contributions from other campus departments and goodwill on
the part of the presenters and/or agents, played a critical role in providing effective
commemorative activities. The schedule of events included the following:

Andres “The Cuban Guy” Lara, speaker/author/trainer
September 24, 2007
Yolanda “YO-YO” Whitaker and Brian A. Cook, “Hip Hop Symposium”
October 18, 2007
Farooka Gauhari, “An Afghan Woman Shares Her Story”
Equity Week speaker, Nov. 12, 2007
Darryl Van Leer, “The Norm of Greatness”
Jan. 28, 2008
Nina Buxenbaum and Zoe Charlton, artists, “Women of/on/not Color”
February 7, 2008
Robbi Renee Paynther, educator, "Breaking the Silence: The Fallacy of Race and the
Impact of Color"
February 19, 2008
Eve Ensler, playwright/performer/activist, “V to the 10th”
Feb. 26, 2008
T. J. Wheeler and the Smokers, blues/jazz ensemble
April 7, 2008
CONCLUSION:
In conclusion, the committee was successful in providing programs that were
educational in nature and directly coincided with our theme. Because the committee
wanted to attract a diverse population and increase participation, members sought to
provide evens that focused on some type of entertainment. As a result, the programs
were well attended, reaching out to diverse audiences across the campus and
community, with an average attendance of 213 per presentation. The events were
highly rated with many individuals indicating an interest in having similar programs in the
future.
Based on the feedback from the evaluations, as well as verbal feedback, the committee
believes that the Martin Luther King Jr. Series was a great success. Specifically, we
believe we accomplished the following:
(a) Increased the echelon of understanding from a humanistic perception
(b) Increased the multicultural awareness and appreciation for the
opulence of diversity

5

(c) Confronted the stereotypes that individuals may embrace about
particular groups
(d) Offered ongoing dialogue on the issues of racial understanding,
gender equality, and economic empowerment
(e) Developed a program that the entire community has come to value,
and one that community members are eager to support in some form
(f) Contributed to the mixture of knowledge, increasing awareness of
commonalities among the differences
(g) Presented a catalyst for the assessment of further knowledge on
America’s history
The Martin Luther King Jr. Series has become an integral part of the university and
community culture. It is a series of events and programs which people look forward to
attending each year. It is programming which faculty incorporate into their curriculum,
and students and staff incorporate into their schedules.
This Martin Luther King Jr. Series has become a great success but only due to the
commitment of many people working together as a team. Through this team effort, the
university has been able to provide educational programs that enrich the social, cultural
and intellectual environment in which we live and grow together.
MLK Budget 2007-08

“The Dream: Forty Years Later”
Program
Andres Lara
“The Cuban Guy”

Date
Sept. 24

Yolanda Whitaker
Oct. 18
Hip Hop Symposium
Equity Week
Nov. 12
Farooka Gauhari

Honorarium
$2,500
Travel
Inclusive
$1,000

Travel

Hotel/Food

Total
$2,500

$1,000

$1,000

$1,000

Darryl Van Leer

Jan. 28

Nina Buxenbaum &
Zoe Charlton
Robbie ene Paynther

Feb. 7

$5000
Air Inclusive
$1,000

Feb. 19

Greek Life

Eve Ensler

Feb. 26

T.J. Wheeler & The
Smokers

April 7

Women’s
Studies
$1500
Travel
Inclusive

Printing
Brochure/Posters
Total Budget

Misc.

$12.63

$220.80

$5,233.43
$141.95 (F)

$1,141.95

$262.51 (F)

$262.51
$-0-

$141.95 (F)

$753.82
$12,000

$766.45

6

$1,641.95

$753.82
$220.80

$546.41 (F)

$13,533.66

7