Date: Jan. 4, 2013
Contact: Carol Connelly, Director, Media & Communication Services, ext. 5267, cconnelly@pnc.edu

PNC Hosts Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration Activities

Dr. Danita Johnson Hughes

WESTVILLE – Purdue University North Central will be the site of the 18 th annual Martin Luther King Jr. Community Celebration Breakfast on Monday, Jan. 21 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.

Dr. Angela Jackson, executive director of the Michigan City Human Rights Department, will serve as the emcee.

The featured speaker, Dr. Danita Johnson Hughes, will speak about her most recent book, "Influencing Today's Youth: Sharing the Behaviors, Expectations and Aspirations of Tomorrow's Leaders" and how it relates to Dr. King's legacy. Johnson Hughes is the CEO of Edgewater Systems for Balanced Living, Inc., a certified mental health center in Indiana providing behavioral health and child welfare services for the citizens of Gary and Northwest Indiana.

Johnson Hughes earned her Bachelor's and Master's degrees in Public Administration from Indiana University Northwest. She also holds a second Master's degree in Social Service Administration, a graduate certificate in Health Administration & Policy from the University of Chicago and a Ph.D. in Human Services from Walden University, Minneapolis.

She serves on the advisory board of the Professional Woman Network; is a member of the Indiana Commission on Mental Health and the Indiana Council of Community Mental Health Centers. She serves on the boards of directors for Calumet College of St. Joseph, One Region One Vision for Northwest Indiana's Quality of Life, The Northwest Indiana Forum and the Northwest Indiana Economic Development District. She is a member of the Northern Indiana Links and “E” Engaging Northwest Indiana Women. She has been recognized for her professional work, including recognition from the two most recent Indiana governors with the Distinguished Hoosier Award and the Indiana Black Expo Award for Health and Fitness.

Pianist Roscoe Hoffman will perform as guests enjoy their breakfast. The morning's program will include the choir from Revival Center Church of God in Christ from Michigan City under the direction of Pastor and Superintendent Dewitt L. Jackson, Sr.

Following the breakfast, the panel discussion, "We Walked with Martin," moderated by Amanda Bates, will look at Dr. King's accomplishments, his dreams and aspirations for our nation, his continuing impact on the nation and what still needs to be accomplished.

Breakfast attendees are asked to bring a non-perishable food item to be donated to local food pantries.

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.

To obtain more information about the Martin Luther King Jr. Community Celebration Breakfast , contact Laura Weaver, PNC service learning coordinator at laweaver@pnc.edu or at 219-785-5200, ext. 5742.

Persons with disabilities requiring accommodations should contact Weaver.