Martin Luther King, Jr. Award

Katie D.

January 19, 2012 - 4:41 PM

Each year, the Office of Institutional Equity and Diversity select members of the University of Oregon community to honor with the Martin Luther King, Jr. Award. The stated qualifications for this award are:

• Demonstrating moral courage, adherence to principles of non-violence, and dedication to the ideal of social harmony in our society;
• Promoting diversity, social justice and equity on the University of Oregon campus;
• Welcoming all people into the university community by embodying the humanitarian spirit exemplified in Dr. King's life and work, and setting a caring example by building morale and showing compassion towards others amidst the realities of our complicated bureaucracy.
• Working diligently through a commitment to cultural diversity and the promotion of cultural awareness to reduce the broad spectrum of social tensions on campus;
• Engaging in diversity, social justice and service work above and beyond normal job expectations thus impacting the university community and beyond.
This year, Professor Shaul Cohen, my thesis advisor and one of the professors I work with in Inside-Out, was honored with this award.

The award ceremony was held on Thursday afternoon, and involved not only excerpts from the nomination letters, but also a time for the awardees to speak to their sources of inspiration and their motivation in social justice work in our community. The event felt like the celebration it was: that there are members of our UO student body, faculty, and staff who go far above and beyond the expectations of their job descriptions in order to work for justice and equality on our campus.

Here is the list of awardees:
• Donella-Elizabeth Alston, Administrative Program Assistant, Department of Ethnic Studies
• Tayah Lin Butler, Academic Advisor, Building Business Leaders Project, Lundquist College of Business
• Shaul Cohen, Associate Professor, Department of Geography
• Reagan Le, Academic Advisor, Center for Multicultural Academic Excellence, formerly, Office of Multicultural Academic Success
• Dominick Vetri, Professor, Law School

Professor Cohen is the only one of the nominees I have been lucky enough to encounter during my years on campus. But I have witnessed his moral courage and dedication to social justice through his work with Inside-Out, his leadership in the Carnegie Council for Ethics and International Affairs, and his dedication to helping his students achieve to their highest potential. As became clear on Thursday, it is possible to work for justice in both large ways and in simple but effective advocacy and encouragement of students. He has offered an enormous degree of compassion, enthusiasm, and wisdom in encouraging my academic and activist career. I also can say with absolute certainty that I would not have received the Mitchell Scholarship without his guidance and encouragement.

The final qualification for the scholarship is "Engaging in diversity, social justice and service work above and beyond normal job expectations thus impacting the university community and beyond." I think this is particularly important on our campus. Academia at its best is constantly engaging with the ‘real world' and seeking to use the wisdom and opportunities of a university setting to somehow address the problems and pains of our true global community. But so often we forget, and live within our own little community on campus, focusing inward rather than outward.

Shaul Cohen has modeled an outward-focused academic career, and a dedication to live what he studies. I am honored to know him, and thrilled to celebrate him as an Martin Luther King, Jr. Awardee.