Greetings Comets,
Welcome back and happy new year. One of the annual highlights of our spring semester is the opportunity to honor the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. This year, Dr. King’s birthday will be observed as a federal holiday on Monday, Jan. 17.
Dr. King is remembered for his compelling eloquence and impactful leadership. His work to promote equality of opportunity, social justice and respect for human dignity inspired and propelled the civil rights movement of the mid-20th century and continues to the present day as the foundation for equality for all.
We will observe the legacy of Dr. King with our MLK Dream Week centered around the theme of “The Urgency of Creating the Beloved Community.” I hope you will not only register for the planned activities at UT Dallas, but also honor the tradition of turning the holiday into a day of service and giving. Even in the constraints we face with COVID-19, it is possible to make a difference whether in person or in the virtual realm.
The fulfillment of Dr. King’s vision rests with each of us, as we advance the values he represented in our own lives and in the communities that we share.
To that end, we continue our efforts of diversity, equity and inclusion at UT Dallas with a number of initiatives. Most recently, we became a charter member of STEMM Equity Achievement (SEA) Change, a program of the American Association for the Advancement of Science to promote equity and inclusion in science, technology, engineering, mathematics and medicine.
The work started by Dr. King is not finished. Nor is our work complete at UT Dallas. The hope offered in striving to create the “Beloved Community” is as important today as it was during Dr. King’s lifetime.
As the remarkable young poet Amanda Gorman wrote in the hopeful and inspirational poem Every Day We Are Learning:
“Just like a skill or any art,
We cannot possess hope without practicing it.
It is the most fundamental craft we demand of ourselves.”
So, let us be determined in our practice of hope this year. And let us do so in a way that honors Dr. King’s legacy.
Sincerely,
Dr. Richard C. Benson
President
Eugene McDermott Distinguished University Chair of Leadership