GOLDEN, Colo., Jan. 18, 2016 – The President’s Committee on Diversity hosted an annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Day Breakfast on Jan. 18 in Friedhoff Hall in the Green Center.

Keynote speaker Carlotta LaNier spoke to the Mines community during a Martin Luther King, Jr. Breakfast in Friedhoff Hall in the Green Center.

The Multicultural Engineering Program helped put together Homework Kits in the Student Recreation Center.

The breakfast honors Mines community members who are exceptional in their appreciation for diversity and understanding of its value on campus. MLK Recognition Award recipients are nominated by members of the community and selected by the MLK Day Planning Committee. The following individuals were presented a plaque and a voucher for $500 to be used towards diversity-related professional development:

• Sean McGinley, Mechanical Engineering student, for his involvement in LGBTQ activities on campus and commitment to improving diversity at Mines.
• Tracy Camp, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Professor, for her leadership in developing Discovering Technology, an after school STEM program for elementary school girls focused on computer science. 

A list of previous recognition award recipients is available at diversity.mines.edu.

During the breakfast, Carlotta LaNier—a key protagonist in the Civil Rights Movement and youngest of the Little Rock Nine—delivered a keynote that reflected on her history, relationship with Martin Luther King, Jr. and her vision for the future. In 1957, LaNier was one of the first African American students to attend classes at Little Rock Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas.

“Carlotta’s power talk this morning reminded all of us that amazing things can happen when ordinary people decide to follow their dreams, which in her case was simply to get a good education,” said Deb Lasich, Associate Vice President for Diversity and Inclusion. “We were honored to have this civil rights icon on campus this morning to learn from and be inspired by her experiences. As a community, we had the opportunity to pay tribute to the life and teachings of Martin Luther King, Jr.”

Later in the day, Mines partnered with the Golden Backpack Program by donating school supplies that will help about 400 children in the program who don’t have adequate supplies at home.

Contact:

Kathleen Morton, Communications Coordinator / 303-273-3088 / kmorton@mines.edu
Karen Gilbert, Director of Public Relations / 303-273-3541 / kgilbert@mines.edu