January 07, 2020

Susquehanna University has a full slate of events planned to honor the life and legacy of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Events are scheduled for the week of Jan. 20 due to students returning that week for the spring semester.

Activities include the third annual Legacy of MLK - A Day of Teaching on Wednesday, Jan. 22.

The daylong event features the following lectures and readings:

10 a.m.

Assisted Reproduction-The New Eugenics, Alissa Packer, associate professor of biology; Peggy Peeler, professor of biology; Tom Peeler, associate professor of biology; Antonio Rockwell, post-doctoral teaching fellow; and Pavithra Vivekanand, assistant professor of biology Stretansky Concert Hall

The Brain and Bias, by Erin Rhinehart, associate professor of biology Isaacs Auditorium

11:15 a.m.

Assisted Reproduction-The New Eugenics, by Alissa Packer, associate professor of biology; Peggy Peeler, professor of biology; Tom Peeler, associate professor of biology; Antonio Rockwell, post-doctoral teaching fellow; and Pavithra Vivekanand, assistant professor of biology Stretansky Concert Hall

Can’t We All Just Get Along: Learning to Talk and Understand Across Disagreement, Difference and Diversity, by Stacey Pearson-Wharton, dean of health and wellness Benjamin Apple Meeting Rooms

12:30 p.m.

Build Your Soapbox: Student Activism and its Sustainability After King, by Monica Prince, assistant professor of English and creative writing Stretansky Concert Hall

Women of Color in the Sciences: Panel Discussion, by Samya Zain, associate professor of physics; Geneive Henry, professor of chemistry; and Massooma Pirbhai, assistant professor of physics Benjamin Apple Meeting Rooms

1:45 p.m.

Where MLK Surpassed His Namesake, by Jeffrey K. Mann, professor of religious studies Stretansky Concert Hall

American Creed and the American Dream, by Harvey Edwards, teacher-in-residence Isaacs Auditorium

3 p.m.

The Music and Legacy of Florence Price, African American Composer, by Jordan Randall Smith, visiting assistant professor of music Stretansky Concert Hall

Not All Neighborhoods are Created Equal: Case Studies of Environmental Racism, by Derek Martin, sustainability coordinator Isaacs Auditorium

4:15 p.m.

A Multilingual Reading of Dr. King’s “Letter From a Birmingham Jail,” by Lyudmyla Ardan, Swarna Basu, Hojin Chang, Michael Dixon, Walfrido Dorta, Li E, Ashantha Fernando, Anjee Gorkhali, Katarina Keller, Martina Kolb, Marcos Krieger, Aisulu Lawton, Francia Moyer, Lynn Palermo, Emiliana Russo, Rachana Sachdev, Zachary Scherr, Li Schultz, Annemieke Stassel and Samya Zain Stretansky Concert Hall

Other events celebrating the legacy of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. include:

  • Student readings and performances at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 22, in Stretansky Concert Hall in the Cunningham Center for Music and Art. Participating organizations include the Slam Poetry Club, Hip-Hop Club and other diversity organizations.
  • A dramatic reading of I’ve Been to the Mountaintop, King’s final speech, by Darrell Willis ’74, at 11:40 a.m. Thursday, Jan. 23 in Mellon Lounge in the Charles B. Degenstein Campus Center.
  • An opening reception for Sons, Seeing the Modern African American Male at 7 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 25, in the Lore Degenstein Gallery. The portraits in this exhibition explore how the black American male perceives himself and how he is perceived by others. The men pictured in the exhibition were selected from Susquehanna University and the greater Susquehanna River Valley by exhibition curators Harvey Edwards and Dan Olivetti. Jerry Taliaferro, well-regarded for photographic projects and published works, including Women of a New Tribe, a photographic study of the spiritual and physical beauty of black women, will present the opening reception lecture. The exhibition continues through March 1.
  • A Hunger Banquet at 5 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 29, in the Benjamin Apple Meeting Rooms. Joanne Troutman, executive director of the United Way, will speak about food insecurity and fighting hunger, particularly in central Pennsylvania.