Six members of the MIT community have received Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Leadership Awards for 2009 in recognition of service that reflects the late civil rights leader's ideals and vision.
In presenting the awards on Feb. 5 during the 35th Annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Breakfast Celebration, MIT Chancellor Phillip L. Clay reflected on the meaning of the word "leadership."
"Those who are anointed as our leaders are first our servants," he said. "Dr. King, in several of his sermons, underscored that point. Leadership is not purchased … but it is earned through service."
The 2009 leadership recipients are divided into three groups: faculty, staff and students. Staff award recipients comprise Barry Reckley, MIT Sloan School of Management assistant director in minority recruitment and retention; and Deborah Liverman, assistant director in the Global Education and Career Development Center. Christine Ortiz, associate professor in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering, and John Essigmann, toxicology and chemistry professor, won the faculty awards, while the student awards went to seniors Aisha Bobb-Semple and Jason Forte.
A version of this article appeared in MIT Tech Talk on February 25, 2009 (download PDF).
