Harris-Stowe University News Dr. Henry Givens, Jr. to Receive Lifetime Achievement Award from the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. State Celebration Commission Harris-Stowe President Has Served as Commission Leader for 25 Years and Has Grown the Celebration to the Second Largest in the Nation With 2011 marking the 25th anniversary of the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. State Celebration Commission Kick-off Program for Missouri, the commission has chosen to honor its leader, Dr. Henry Givens, Jr. with its Lifetime Achievement Award. The award will be presented to Dr. Givens at the kick-off event on Saturday, January 8, 2011. Dr. Givens has chaired the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. State Celebration Commission since its inception. With the assistance of his fellow commissioners, he has turned Missouri's Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. celebration into the second largest in the nation. The commission, established in 1985, consists of governor-appointed members throughout the state of Missouri who come together to host events that preserve Dr. King's legacy. A native St. Louisan, Dr. Givens has been president of Harris-Stowe State University since 1979. Under his leadership, the University has greatly expanded its degree programs and has significantly increased its facilities from one building to seven. These changes include the new state-of-the-art William L. Clay, Sr. Early Childhood Development/Parenting Education Center and the Rev. Dr. William G. Gillespie Residence Hall and Student Center, the institution's first on-campus housing in its long history of more than 150 years. An eighth building, a second residence hall, is currently under construction. Additionally during Dr. Givens' tenure, Harris-Stowe opened its Anheuser-Busch School of Business at a satellite campus in south St. Louis, tripled its student enrollment and changed its status from College to University. Dr. Givens was educated in the St. Louis Public Schools and earned his baccalaureate degree at Lincoln University. He received his master's degree at the University of Illinois and his Ph.D. at Saint Louis University, and he studied higher education administration at Harvard University. He began his career in education as a teacher in the Webster Groves School District before becoming principal of the first prototype magnet school in the nation. Before leaving the district, he held the post of assistant to the superintendent of schools and became the first African-American to serve Missouri as Assistant Commissioner of Education. At the request of the governor of Missouri, Dr. Givens became interim president of Lincoln University in Jefferson City, MO, during a financial crisis in 1987, while continuing his duties at Harris-Stowe. Such an appointment was without precedent in Missouri public higher education. Dr. Givens has served in the past and present on local, national and international groups as a consultant, including the U.S. State Department at its American School in Lima, Peru. Additionally, he currently serves on 15 local, state and national boards and commissions, and on local and national Corporate Boards of Directors, namely, the White House's Historically Black Colleges and Universities Capital Financing Advisory Board, Peabody Energy Inc., U.S. Bank (Regional), and Automobile Club of Missouri (AAA). Dr. Givens is affiliated with numerous national and local professional and social organizations and has received more than 125 national, state and local awards and recognitions, including honorary doctorates from Saint Louis University, Lincoln University and Washington University. Dr. Givens is married to Belma Evans Givens. They have a daughter, a son and three grandchildren. Dr. Givens will receive the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. State Celebration Kick-off program on Saturday, January 8, 2011, at 6:30 p.m., in the Main Auditorium of Harris-Stowe's Dr. Henry Givens, Jr. Administration Building. The event is free and open to the public. A commemorative 25th anniversary program and fan set will be available for a $5 donation, to assist with expenses associated with the kick-off program. Immediately following the program, there will be a reception, featuring Steve Schankman and the Fabulous Motown Revue, on the ground floor of the Dr. Henry Givens Jr. Administration Building. For a photo of Dr. Givens, please go to http://www.hssu.edu/ae/aefiles/21/images/DrGivens.jpg. About Harris-Stowe State University Harris-Stowe State University, located in midtown St. Louis, is a four-year institution that offers 14 degree programs in the areas of Accounting, Business Administration, Biology, Criminal Justice, Early Childhood Education, Elementary Education, Health Care Management, Hospitality and Tourism Management, Information Sciences and Computer Technology, Mathematics, Middle School Education, Professional Interdisciplinary Studies, Secondary Education and Urban Education. Ranked by U.S. News as one of America's Best Colleges in the Midwest, the University, which has been in existence for more than 150 years, offers the most affordable bachelor's degree in the metropolitan area. SANDRA M. PHOENIX Program Director HBCU Library Alliance sphoenix@hbculibraries.org www.hbculibraries.org 404.592.4820 1438 West Peachtree Street NW Suite 200 Atlanta, GA 30309 Toll Free: 1.800.999.8558 (Lyrasis) Fax: 404.892.7879 www.lyrasis.org Honor the ancestors, honor the children.