Date: Jan. 5, 2012
Contact: Carol Connelly, Director, Media & Communication Services, ext. 5267, cconnelly@pnc.edu

PNC Hosts Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration Activities

Dr. Garrard McClendon

WESTVILLE – Purdue University North Central will be the site of the
17th annual Martin Luther King Jr. Community Celebration Breakfast on Monday, Jan. 16 in the PNC Library-Student-Faculty Building cafeteria. The event, sponsored by the Martin Luther King Jr. Community Celebration Committee and hosted by Purdue North Central, is free and open to the public. The doors open at 7:15 a.m. and the breakfast will be served at 7:30 a.m., with the program to begin at 8 a.m. Reservations are not required.

The featured speaker is Dr. Garrard McClendon, an Emmy award-winning talk show host, professor and author. McClendon will speak about his personal story and how he incorporates Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s message of inclusiveness and non-violence into his life.

A Northwest Indiana native, he has hosted The McClendon Report TV and radio shows for Comcast and WVON-AM 1690, along with Garrard McClendon Live on CLTV in Chicago and Off 63rd with Garrard McClendon on WYCC PBS Chicago. He owns McClendon Report Media and is the author of “Ax or Ask?: The African American Guide to Better English.”

A graduate of Hammond High School, he earned his Bachelor's degree in English from Wabash College, earned Master's degrees in English and History from Valparaiso University and earned his Ph.D. in Education from Loyola University - Chicago.

McClendon has taught English at Bishop Chatard High School, Bishop Noll Institute, Purdue University and the Culver Academies. He is an assistant professor and research fellow at Chicago State University.

Diagnosed with cancer in 2003, he is free of the disease after surgery and treatments. McClendon continues to fulfill the legacy of his parents as executive director of the Milton & Ruby McClendon Educational Foundation, which provides teachers and students with classroom supplies. He and his wife Quanica have two children.

Music for the event will be provided by PNC student and violinist Lydia Bim-Merle, accompanied by pianist Gemma Pizarek.

Rev. Steve Laue, director of Spiritual Care and Chaplaincy Services, IU LaPorte Hospital, will present the multimedia presentation, “King's Road,” profiling Dr. King's life and those people who moved and motivated him and those people King subsequently inspired.

Breakfast participants are asked to bring non-perishable food items that will be donated to the Salvation Armies of Michigan City and LaPorte.

PNC students, faculty, staff and community members are invited to join one of the Martin Luther King Jr. Day Service Projects taking place throughout the area.

From 10 a.m. to 12 p.m., Dr. Mary Jane Eisenhauer, assistant professor of Early Childhood Education, Debra Pratt, continuing lecturer of Education, and students in the PNC Department of Education student organizations Purdue Learning About Young Children in Education (PLAYCE) and Kappa Delta Pi, the education honor society, will travel to the Michigan City Public Library to lead a series of activities for children.

All children are welcome to attend, but activities are intended for individuals ages two to 12. Hands-on activities will focus on the life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Further information about the event at the Michigan City Public Library may be obtained by contacting Pratt, at djpratt@pnc.edu or 785-5200, ext. 5486.

Also from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., PNC students, faculty, staff and community members are welcome to take part in a Martin Luther King Jr. Day Service Project at the LaPorte Family YMCA. Community members wishing to volunteer for this event should register by contacting Laura Weaver, PNC service learning coordinator at laweaver@pnc.edu or at 785-5200, ext. 5742.

The 2012 Martin Luther King Jr. Community Celebration sponsors include Purdue University North Central Chancellor's Diversity Fund; Blue Chip Casino, Hotel and Spa; The Herald Argus and The New-Dispatch; Horizon Bank; IU Health La Porte Hospital; LaPorte Savings Bank; NIPSCO; PNC Bank; Mayor Ron Meer; Michigan City Human Rights Commission; National Association for the Advancement of Colored People; Sinai Temple; State Rep. Tom Dermody and Dr. and Mrs. Burton B. Ruby.

Information about the Martin Luther King Jr. Community Celebration Breakfast may be obtained by contacting Weaver.  Persons with disabilities requiring accommodations should contact Weaver.

Download the MLK event flyer