UMS Community:
On Monday, we recognize and celebrate a great American, the late Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., who is honored with the only public holiday designated as a national day of service.
MLK Day, as we call the holiday, was designated a national day of service by the federal King Holiday and Service Act of 1994 because Dr. King himself believed that greatness comes from serving. In a speech he gave just two months to the day before his tragic assassination, he implored us to remember him not for his accomplishments, but as someone who tried to give his life serving others.
Across our universities and state on Monday, I hope all students, faculty, and staff will seek out opportunities to heed Dr. King’s call to humble service that advances not only racial justice and understanding, also more broadly, our university and System-wide commitments to diversity, equity, inclusion, and all forms of social justice. That should be our commitment to each other, and it need not – in fact dare I say it should not – be limited to Monday alone.
Let your service Monday, whatever form it takes, inspire semester-long and perhaps even life-long service and commitment to racial and social justice. Humbly learn something new about a friend, a classmate, a social or work peer who doesn’t share the color of your skin. Humbly serve a community with needs or beliefs different than your own. Humbly act. In doing that, broaden your understanding of the community benefits we all realize when we celebrate diversity through service to and with each other.
Later this month I’ll be joining this year’s first UMS-wide “meet-n-greet” event to welcome new UMS employees to our universities and System. I’ll be talking there about our commitments to diversity, equity, inclusion, and social justice, and I hope to inspire new commitments to DEI service among the newest members of our university communities. Later this spring, I hope you’ll take part in the UMS DEI Climate Survey so your voice is heard and helps to shape our work to continue advancing these commitments.
I leave you now with a reflection on our common humanity. There is no “greater than” or “lesser than” among us – we are all equal, and we can all be great because we can all serve, and serve each other. That’s from Dr. King too, in the same speech he gave two months before he was so unfairly taken. You only need a heart full of grace, he said, and a soul generated by love.
Let’s be servants together on Monday and beyond.
Regards,
