Chancellor Jean F. MacCormack
Remarks to MLK Drum Major breakfast
February 3, 2006
Good morning and welcome to UMass Dartmouth and our new Woodland Commons facility.
Thank you Kevin for that warm introduction. And thank you Joseph (Poles) and Marlindsey (Manuel) for the great job you are doing on stage today.
It is students such as these that provide us with so much hope and optimism about the future.
I can tell that these are drum majors for justice in the making and we are looking forward to seeing how they affect our world.
I also want to thank George Smith and his staff for organizing this event, as well as the members of the Drum Major Awards Nomination Committee:
- Tia Bullard
- Lee Charlton
- Pam Cruz
- Peggy Dias
- John Fobanjong
- Dorothy Lopes
This is a year of Building New Bridges for UMass Dartmouth. We are creating events and conversations across the campus and throughout the region that help us focus on the relationships among the academic disciplines of the campus, between the campus and its surrounding communities, and between the campus and its peers in higher education.
We know that our collective future as a university, a region, a Commonwealth, a nation, a globe is dependent on our ability to eliminate the barriers that exist between us.
We know that these barriers are fortified by ignorance, ambition, and arrogance.
We know that as a university, we have an obligation to break down those barriers and replace them with bridges underpinned by knowledge, reason, and humility. Dr. King gave us many lessons that help us in this mission.
Every year before this event I read Dr. King’s Drum Mayor Instinct sermon, delievered in 1968 when I was still in college. I am reminded how fortunate I was during those exciting and turbulent and painful times to have the rare opportunity to pursue higher education.
I am reminded that higher education is an opportunity that still remains rare in the world today and inaccessible to too many people in our own county.
And every time I read the sermon or hear a speech from Dr. King, I am struck by the altruism...the humanity...of his message.
From the examples of Dr. King and Coretta Scott King, and Rosa Parks we have learned that tolerance is not good enough and that our sights must be raised to a higher plane. We must achieve a genuine caring for our fellow human beings.
Dr. King asked that day at the Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta to be remembered as a person who “tried to love and serve humanity.’’ What a worthy life goal for all of us.
This event celebrates individuals who have distinguished themselves as bridge builders. Our honorees have displayed courage, creativity, passion, and skill in service to humanity.
They are examples for all of us, and I look forward to introducing each of them to you later in the program.
Now, I would like to introduce our keynote speaker.
Introduction of Elaine Brown
Elaine Brown is an activist, author, mother, world traveller and song writer.
Formerly a leader of the Black Panther Party, Ms. Brown is the author of The Condemnation of Little B, the story that makes the case that a 13-year-old boy was sentenced to life in prison for a murder he did not commit... and A Taste of Power, her memoir.
She grew up in the ghettos of North Philadelphia and eventually moved to Atlanta, Georgia where she established “Fields of Flowers,” a non-profit education center for black and poor children.
She became executive director of the Michael Lewis Legal Defense Committee, organized to support the legal appeal of Lewis (“Little B”) and a co-founder of the National Alliance for Radical Prison Reform
As a Black Panther, Ms. Brown twice ran for public office and recently moved to Brunswick, Georgia, to run for mayor.
She is a member of many organizations devoted to creating economic and cultural opportunities for poor people. She is the chairwoman of the Economic Development Committee of the Brunswick NAACP and vice president of The Dr. Huey P. Newton Foundation.
Her travels have taken her to China, North Korea, Vietnam, Cuba, Algeria, Italy, and elsewhere. She speaks fluent French.
Please welcome Elaine Brown.
Drum Major Award -- Dr. Jibreel Khazan
Jibreel Khazan and three others made history in the 1960s when they staged a “sit-in” demonstration at a lunch counter in Greensboro, North Carolina.
That courageous act by the Greensboro 4 on Feb. 1, 1960, sparked a civil rights movement that swept the country, inspiring millions of people and leading to passage of historic civil rights laws regarding public accommodations, voting, employment, and equal protection.
A native of Greensboro, Dr. Khazan has lived in New Bedford since 1965, and has been a familiar, well-respected figure for his work in educating persons about the history of the freedom movement. Jibreel Khazan is now a resident counselor for the Comprehensive Mental Health System of New Bedford.
He and his wife, Lorraine “Rainbow” George-Khazan, have three adult children.
Dr. Khazan was nominated by Elizabeth Lawton, Owner/Director Rainbow Workshop and Learning Center. He will be donating his award to the Boys’ and Girls’ Club of New Bedford, The NAACP of New Bedford, and The Rainbow Workshop and Learning Center.
Dr. Khazan could not join us today because he had a previously scheduled commitment to be in Greensboro for a civil rights event, but we are happy to present the award to his wife Lorraine.
Drum Major Award – Dr. Jack Sbrega
As President of Bristol Community College Jack Sbrega has articulated and demonstrated a commitment to the ideals and vision of Martin Luther King, Jr.
He has emphasized “student success” as the chief institutional priority and in doing so has thrown open the doors of higher educational opportunity to thousands.
His innovative system of open office hours, on-line chats, direct telephone access to the president, visits with all campus constituencies, and regular columns in campus publications have strengthened college communications and broadened his accessibility and the college’s accessibility.
He has demonstrated leadership and vocal support for initiatives in faculty hiring, student recruitment that has led to a more diverse campus culture. He began a community-based celebration of Martin Luther King, Jr., and provided assistance to The Massachusetts Migrant Education Program.
Prior to his BCC position, Dr. Sbrega was vice president for academic and student affairs at Anne Arundel Community College, and founding academic officer for the Providence campus of the Community College of Rhode Island. He began his teaching career in community college classrooms in Virginia.
A decorated Air Force veteran, he served in southeast Asia.
He and his wife Jo-Anne have two children.
Dr. Sbrega was nominated by Tafa Awolaju (TAH-fuh Ah-WAHL-uh-jew), Director of Human Resources/Affirmative Action, Bristol Community College.
John Sbrega will be donating his award to the Bristol Community College Foundation Toward a Student of Color Initiative.
Drum Major Award -- Dr. William Hogan
As chairman of the university’s Economics Department and most recently as College of Arts and Sciences dean, Dr. William Hogan has shown a commitment to the ideals of social justice and leadership by which Martin Luther King, Jr.. lived.
He was in the forefront of the initiative to develop a curriculum inclusive of various backgrounds, and was instrumental in the hiring of several individuals of color within the Department of Economics.
As a faculty member and administrator, Hogan has worked closely with students and faculty of color as an advisor and mentor.
Dr. Hogan is a 1970 graduate of UMass Dartmouth, and earned his master’s and doctoral degrees in economics from Cornell University.
He began teaching at the university in 1978; chaired the department from 1981 through 1991 and again from 1995 to 2004; and became College dean last July.
The National Economists Club recognized him for his essay on economics, demography, and public policy. He received an economic policy fellowship from the Brookings Institution in Washington, D.C., and is a recipient of the university’s Faculty Federation Distinguished Service Award.
Dr. Hogan was nominated by John Fobanjong, Professor, Department of Political Science, University of Massachusetts Dartmouth. Bill Hogan is donating his award to the Raymond M. Barrows Community Service Book Fund.
Last Updated On: 3/22/06
