- PROMOTING A MORE PEACEFUL AND JUST WORLD: ANNUAL EVENT ADVANCES DR. KING'S VISION
Dr. Delphina Hopkins-Gillispie, assistant professor of education and co-founder of the Peace and Social Justice Symposium, and Dr. James Kingsland, associate professor of political science, engage a group of students in a discussion about Martin Luther King Jr., civic engagement and social responsibility. What started out as a class project in 2002 for Valparaiso University students has turned into an award-winning annual event that promotes civic engagement, social responsibility and social action and encourages participants to incorporate this commitment into their respective faiths and vocations.
Valpo's annual Peace and Social Justice Symposium is being honored in January as a 2010 Martin Luther King Jr. Award recipient. The award will be accepted by event co-founders Dr. Delphina Hopkins-Gillispie, assistant professor of education, and Jane Bello-Brunson, director of multicultural programs, at the Jan. 18 MLK Day convocation. Dr. Alan Bloom, associate professor of history, will also be honored.
The University’s MLK Award is presented annually to recognize a person or group that has made significant and lasting contributions to the improvement of the racial climate on campus and in the surrounding community.
The Peace and Social Justice Symposium started as an action plan from the Study Circles on Race Relations class,” said Dr. Hopkins-Gillispie. “After Sept. 11, 2001, the students were asking ‘What can we do to bring about a more peaceful and just world?’”
In response, a group of multicultural students, led by Dr. Hopkins-Gillispie and Bello-Brunson, brainstormed and developed a symposium that would provide an avenue for the discussion of issues affecting peace, equality and social justice in their communities, on a national level and globally.
The intent is to inspire students to become involved as responsible citizens,” said Dr. Hopkins-Gillispie.
In fall 2009, the symposium offered participants three days of guest speakers, panel discussions, workshop sessions, training seminars and interactive programs on race relations, conflict resolution and social activism.
It has grown to be a campus-wide labor of love,” Bello-Brunson said.
Topics for the symposium over the years have included poverty, race relations, violence, global conflict, inequality and social injustices and inequities.