UMBC President Freeman Hrabowski delivered an evocative, impactful talk on Dr. Martin Luther King’s vision of equal opportunity for all people to an audience of 300 at Carnegie Mellon University on Monday, January 26, 2015.
Dr. Hrabowski’s address was introduced by CMU President Subra Suresh as part of the Simon Initiative Distinguished Lecture Series — a “forum for thought leaders focused on scientific advancement and disruptive innovation in the field of education.” Richard Scheines, dean of CMU’s Dietrich College, moderated a Q&A session following the talk.
Dr. Hrabowski reflected on how central a strong sense of self is to achievement, and how universities can cultivate and strengthen that confidence and drive in students from all backgrounds through high expectations and support. He challenged Carnegie Mellon to “become a leader in the world in producing students from underrepresented groups who will then transform the world.”
“Whether we are talking about a strength in STEM or the humanities or social sciences, the real question for the American university is: How do we reach out to students who are different?” Dr. Hrabowski said. “How do we create a culture in the spirit and dream of Dr. King that welcomes those students, embraces their differences and expects the most — both from them and from ourselves?”
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P1vwNmqtYQ0]
UMBC and Carnegie Mellon have a strong, collaborative relationship. UMBC has been a partner of CMU’s Open Learning Initiative (OLI) for over five years, offering OLI courses in statistics, biology, psychology and computing. UMBC faculty work with CMU researchers to refine approaches to technology-enhanced learning. We are also proud to have welcomed several CMU alumni as UMBC faculty, including Manil Suri, mathematics; Michele Osherow, English; and Amy Hurst, information systems.
