2014 Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Involvement Awards |
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February 4, 2014, Volume 60, No. 21 |
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Left to right: Penn's 2014 MLK Community Involvement Award recipients: Larry Gladney, Tania Chairez, Joan Williams, Edwin Desamour and Ancil George. |
Faculty/Staff Award: Ancil George
Ancil George’s job as a librarian is to enhance the use of the Penn Libraries’ resources for students and faculty in the departments of Africana studies, Asian American studies and in the Penn School of Social Policy & Practice, but he has devoted his entire professional life to working above and beyond a piece of paper that contains a meager job description. He has been an inspiration and champion for literacy, learning and library sciences for over three decades, working with numerous Penn students and community youth from West Philadelphia. Further, if you talk to students who ask him for help with research, they will tell you that he is available 24 hours a day. He goes as far as giving his home phone number to students to call if they need help. Mr. George serves on the advisory boards of Penn’s African-American Resource Center and the Makuu Black Cultural Center and is chairing the advisory board of the Greenfield Intercultural Center.
Rodin Education Award: Larry Gladney
Larry Gladney is the Edmund J. and Louise W. Kahn Professor for Faculty Excellence and department chair of Penn’s department of physics and astronomy. He is improving research, teaching and learning at Penn and in his partner high schools, Sayre, Science Leadership Academy and Furness High Schools, through democratic and collaborative efforts that are contributing to improving Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education in these schools. Dr. Gladney is also a leader and catalyst of civic engagement among his Penn colleagues. He serves on the Faculty Advisory Board of the Netter Center for Community Partnerships and his academically based community service (ABCS) course, Physics 137: Community Physics is a core component of the Netter Center’s Moelis Access Science program (MAS), engaging him and his students at the three partner high schools. Dr. Gladney is a world-class physicist who cares deeply that urban youth are not shut out of today’s knowledge-based economy due to their lack of education in the STEM fields.
Community Award: Edwin Desamour
Edwin Desamour is the co-founder of MIMIC (Men in Motion in the Community). MIMIC was founded September 2007 by a group of men who were concerned about the violence plaguing inner city youth and the numerous amounts of youth entering the juvenile/prison system. Mr. Desamour has served as the driving force to MIMIC. He has personally saved the lives of many young people in North Philadelphia. He works tirelessly and with passion. Primarily based in the Kensington/Fairhill area of Philadelphia, MIMICs mission is “To build bridges of community support and social bonds for Philadelphia’s high risk youth, young adults and previously incarcerated men, through mentoring, community engagement and educational enrichment.”
Community Award: Joan Williams
Joan Williams has been a pillar in the West Philadelphia community for over two decades. In her roles as first vice president and director of Programs and Projects for the West Philadelphia Coalition of Neighborhoods and Businesses, she has lent her personal efforts to assisting community residents to improve their circumstances. She has developed an electronic database of over 400 individuals, organizations, agencies and businesses to whom she disseminates information on jobs, scholarships, health fairs, screenings and other opportunities from which they might benefit. Ms. Williams serves as a liaison between community corporations and businesses and citizens seeking employment. Through her personal efforts, Ms. Williams has helped numerous unemployed community residents obtain employment.
Student Award: Tania Chairez
Tania Chairez is a humble leader in the immigrant rights movement whose beliefs are firmly grounded in social justice. She is driven by her own personal experience and that of her peers. She seeks to make Penn and the Greater Philadelphia Area a more welcoming place for immigrant communities. Ms. Chairez is a senior in Wharton studying marketing and legal studies. She was born in Mexico and raised in Arizona since she was five years old. As an undocumented student she has traversed many challenges in order to obtain a college education. At Penn, she has been actively involved in raising awareness on immigration issues and has become a strong advocate for undocumented students on and off campus. This past summer Ms. Chairez was selected for the National Immigration Law Center’s First Generation Civil Rights Fellowship.
Related: Honors & Other Things
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