January 12, 2024

Dear UM Colleagues,

As spring semester approaches, I invite you to join me to pause and reflect on the life and teachings of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

While our nation will formally celebrate Dr. King on Monday, Jan. 15, his vision and work has and will continue to inspire the University of Montana's ethos of open doors, inclusive prosperity and civil dialogue. His message challenges us to listen - and attend - to diverse calls to address our faults and to live into our aspirations as a community that welcomes and supports all people.

We are at our best when we do this work in tandem with others - faculty, staff, students, administrators and community members working alongside one another. Our shared responsibility for advancing Dr. King's vision is reflected in UM faculty members who create inclusive learning environments, in the design of our new student orientation experiences, in student engagement opportunities that foster a sense of belonging, in our recent dedication of a Corbin Hall plaque that responds to a painful history, in our annual DiverseU event that brings challenging topics to light, in the work of the Diversity Advisory Council and President's Native American Advisory Council, in the inspired efforts of our active student groups, and in the ways UM research and service impact communities.

These and other tangible actions are visible in our Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Plan, which currently is undergoing a comprehensive update to ensure we always aspire to improve. The plan is UM's very expression of our belief that Dr. King's call for action, continues.

In addition to these over-arching on-campus efforts, the UM community is participating in important local dialogues that promote love and combat hate. The MLK Jr. Day Planning Committee has organized free community events to honor the legacy of this great American.

• Sunday, Jan. 14, University Congregational Church, 11:30 a.m. - 1 p.m.: Community lunch and panel discussion with members of the MLK Jr. Day Committee and others working to promote justice and healing.
• Monday, Jan. 15, Memorial Rose Garden Park, 3:15 p.m.: Martin Luther King Jr. Day's March for Peace. Hosted by EmpowerMT and the MLK Jr. Day Planning Committee.
• Monday, Jan. 15, St. Anthony's Parish, 4-6 p.m.: Community Celebration featuring an ad hoc choir directed by UM student Kevin Willis.

On campus, we will welcome Dr. Judith Weisenfeld to the ALI Auditorium on Thursday, Feb. 1, at 7:30 p.m. for our campus Martin Luther King Jr. Day and President's Lecture Series event. Dr. Weisenfeld, an African American religious history scholar and award-winning author from Princeton University, will deliver a talk titled "African American Religions, American Psychiatry and the Long Civil Rights Struggle." This event is free and open to the community.

For those in Missoula, please join us at these events. And, for all, please keep in your own hearts and minds Dr. King's message of hope, love and community.

Seth