Martin Luther King Jr. commemorative events planned at Fairfield University

Martin Luther King Jr. commemorative events planned at Fairfield University

Image: Father Bryan Massingale Fairfield University will honor the contributions of Martin Luther King Jr. with three days of events, beginning on Wednesday, Jan. 25, with a 6 p.m. interfaith service in the Egan Chapel of St. Ignatius Loyola. Following the service will be a multicultural festival and art exhibit, from 7 to 8:30 p.m., in the John A. Barone Campus Center Oak Room.

The annual convocation takes place at 3 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 26, in the Kelley Theatre with an address by Father Bryan Massingale, associate professor at Marquette University, who specializes in African-American religious ethics, racial justice, and Catholic social thought. Following the convocation is the 6 p.m. annual Martin Luther King Jr. Dinner where Vision Awards are presented to individuals who have incorporated into their lives the teachings and ideals of Martin Luther King Jr.

This year's Vision Awards will be presented to: Paula Donovan, Senior Advisor in the office of the UN Secretary-General's Special Envoy for AIDS in Africa; Dr. John A. and Rose Marie Barone who have been leaders in supporting educational opportunity for multicultural students; Dr. Winston Tellis, the Camille and Stephen Schramm Professor of Information Systems and Operations Management in the Charles F. Dolan School of Business, who has supported efforts in Haiti and Nicaragua, as well as locally, to address issues of poverty; and Chrystie Cruz, a junior at Fairfield University, who serves as cultural director of the Fairfield University Student Association.

The dinner also honors the winners of the annual Connecticut Post-Fairfield University Martin Luther King Jr. Essay Contest, now in its third year. The top three students, from the sixth, seventh and eighth grades in Bridgeport, attend the dinner with their parents and are awarded prizes that include monetary awards and books.

The final event is a Martin Luther King Jr. Youth Workshop on Friday, Jan. 27, for area middle school students.

Father Massingale, whose recent work has included essays on the contribution of Martin Luther King Jr. to Catholic moral thought and the moral consciousness of the African slave, is the author of over 30 articles, book chapters, and book reviews that have been published in journals such as Theological Studies, New Theology Review, Philosophy and Theology, Origins, U.S. Catholic , and Catholic Peace Voice . He is at work on two book projects, one that develops the African-American contribution to Catholic Social Ethics and another that explores an ethic of racial reconciliation from a Catholic perspective. He has also authored an award-winning column for the Catholic Press, examining contemporary social issues from a faith perspective.

Father Massingale is a member of the Board of Directors of the Catholic Theological Society of America and sits on the Executive Committee of the Black Catholic Theological Symposium. He has served as a theological consultant to the National Black Catholic Congress. He is a consultant to the United States Catholic Conference of Bishops, providing theological assistance on issues such as criminal justice, capital punishment, environmental justice, and affirmative action. He is currently working with the U.S. Bishops on a forthcoming pastoral statement on the sin of racism. He will present a plenary paper this fall at a Catholic scholars consultation on the environment that explores the implications of the option for the poor for environmental justice.

The Martin Luther King Jr. celebration is coordinated through the Center for Multicultural Relations, under the direction of Larri Mazon and a 14-member committee made up of students, faculty, administrators and staff. All events are free except for the dinner on Thursday night. For additional details on the dinner, please contact Kristine Carroll, (203) 254-4000, ext. 2661.

Posted On: 01-16-2006 10:01 AM

Volume: 38 Number: 138