Xavier University News December 2011 Education Author to Highlight MLK Week Celebration New Orleans LA - Educator, speaker and author Dr. Steve Perry will be the keynote speaker for the 26th annual Martin Luther King Jr. Week for Peace, Jan. 16-21, 2012. The Martin Luther King Week for Peace is presented by Xavier, Tulane, Loyola and Dillard Universities. This year's theme is "When Push Comes to Shove: Where Will You Stand?" Highlighting the week is Wednesday's (Jan. 18) annual convocation during which Lifetime Achievement and Student Community Service awards will be presented. Students from all four universities will also be honored. In addition to the convocation, other MLK week activities include an interfaith service, Expressions of Unity celebration, and a community day of service. All events are free and the public is invited to participate. Perry is the education columnist for CNN and Essence magazine, and the author of the bestselling self-published book Man Up! In his latest book, Push Has Come to Shove, Perry spares no sacred cows in describing what steps need to be taken to ensure that all American schools, whether urban or suburban, deliver a first-rate education to our kids - the kind of schooling that will return the United States to the top of the global education rankings. He is also the founder of the Connecticut Collegiate Awareness Program (ConnCAP) at Capital Community College, which over a six-year period sent 100% of its low-income first-generation graduates to four-year colleges. That led to the establishment of the Capital Preparatory Magnet School in Hartford, Connecticut's lowest performing district, in 2004. Since its inception that school, too, has sent 100% of its graduates to four-year colleges. Capital Prep has been recognized by US News & World Report as one of America's Best High Schools. Dr. Perry's uncompromising, no-excuses approach to designing the ideal educational experience for children led to his being featured on CNN's documentary "Black in America" and from there to an official role as a weekly education contributor to the network. His "Perry's Principles" and other reportage, regularly seen on both Anderson Cooper 360 and American Morning, tackles the most contentious issues being debated in American education. A nationally sought after speaker, he has also appeared on hundreds of radio and television broadcasts and at education and cultural forums around the country. The complete calendar of MLK events follows: Monday, Jan. 16 - Interfaith Service, 6:00 p.m. Lawless Chapel, Dillard University Wednesday, Jan. 18 - MLK Convocation: Reception 5:30 p.m.; Convocation 6:30 p.m. Presentation of Awards, Keynote Speaker Dr. Steve Perry University Center (Grand Ballroom), Xavier Friday, Jan. 20 - Expressions of Unity, 7:00 p.m. McAlister Auditorium, Tulane - MLK Student Event, 9:30 p.m. Danna Center (St. Charles Room), Loyola Saturday, Jan. 21 - Community Day of Service, 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Staging area, Loyola (Danna Center) For more information call 520-5420 or 865-5181. SANDRA M. PHOENIX Executive Director HBCU Library Alliance sphoenix@hbculibraries.org<mailto:sphoenix@hbculibraries.org> www.hbculibraries.org<http://www.hbculibraries.org/> 404.592.4820 Skype:sandra.phoenix1 1438 West Peachtree Street NW Suite 200 Atlanta, GA 30309 Toll Free: 1.800.999.8558 (Lyrasis) Fax: 404.892.7879 www.lyrasis.org<http://www.lyrasis.org/> Honor the ancestors, honor the children.