The Torch sat down with Dr. Mary Schmidt Campbell to discuss the upcoming virtual celebration of Dr. Martin Luther King Junior’s legacy. Lane Community College is hosting the event Thursday Jan. 13 from 5:30-7:30 p.m., register here.
Dr. Campbell is the 10th President of Spelman College in Atlanta, Georgia. Spelman is a Historically Black University women’s college with a focus on STEM. She was also the Dean of New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts and in 2009 was appointed by President Barack Obama to be the Vice Chair of the President’s Committee of Arts and Humanities. She believes in marrying the creative energy of arts with STEM to inspire a generation of young creative thinkers and leaders.
“A genuine leader is not a searcher for consensus, but a molder of consensus.” Dr King spoke those words in 1967 and today Dr. Campbell continues that work of forging consensus with future leaders. This theme will be the main focus of the MLK celebration on Thursday as she hopes to educate and inspire the young leaders of LCC. She is extending a call to action for Lane students to find an issue that they can rally around.
Dr. Campbell believes that education is the civil rights issue of the 21st century. Between the wealth gap widening and technological advancements, she claims it is more important than ever to engage students at all levels. At Spelman, Dr. Campbell created the Innovation Lab which, according to Spelman’s website, is “a campus-wide resource for creative inquiry, unconventional research, experimental pedagogy, and exploratory play.” Dr. Campbell believes that encouraging students to experiment with the intersections of art and science can create innovative approaches to education.
When asked about what the Lane community can do to further embody the legacy of Dr. King, her answer was clear: advocate for education. Educational excellence has to be a priority and it has to be equitable, she argues. She believes that Pell Grant opportunities need to be extended and that public schools need to be 21st-century-focused. “What is the whole purpose of education in the first place?” Dr. Campbell asked, and during the Dr. King celebration a clear answer may be found.
