Simmons President To Keynote 34th King Observance Tonight

Arlington MA

17 January, 2022

2:25 PM

Description

Your Arlington Last Updated: 17 January 2022 Written by Kate Cubeta UPDATED Jan. 11: The 34th annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Birthday Observance, virtual for a second straight year, is set for 7:30 p.m. Monday, Jan. 17. ACMi is broadcasting the celebration because of Covid. Delivering this year's keynote is Dr. Lynn Perry Wooten, the ninth president of Simmons University. Watch LIVE at acmi.tv/publive on the public channels: RCN 629, Verizon 31, Comcast 8, or the government channels: RCN 614, Verizon 26, Comcast 22. The event will also be streamed on Arlington Human Rights Commission Facebook page. University leader put impossible into practice Imagine getting married, having a child, writing a Ph.D dissertation and starting a new job in a new city in just two years. All this doesn't seem possible, yet that is exactly what Dr Wooten accomplished in the 1990s. She doesn't recommend taking on that much at once, but her success in doing so illustrates her genius at managing time and prioritizing goals. Fast-forward to the summer of 2020. Imagine moving to a new city to take the helm of a school on lockdown due to a pandemic, while seeing one child off to college and another off to law school with your partner in Ann Arbor, Mich. No way! Dr. Wooten, however, was perfectly poised for this mission when she became the ninth president of Simmons University in Boston. Join the birthday observance to learn how Lynn Wooten is inspiring students and staff, initiating positive change and collaborating with peer leaders in higher education. She is the first African American to lead Simmons in its 121 years of providing women-only undergraduate, and coed graduate school education. This distinguished scholar specializes in crisis leadership, diversity and inclusion and organizational innovations to find and nurture talent. She grew up in Philadelphia. In 1988, she was valedictorian at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University. In 1990 she earned an MBA from Duke University and in 1995, a Ph.D in business administration from the University of Michigan. From the Harvard University Graduate School of Education, she received an advanced educational leadership certificate in 2018. She taught undergraduate, graduate and executive education courses at the University of Michigan's Business School for close to 20 years. She was co-faculty director of two leadership institutes there and rose to senior associate dean for student and academic excellence. She won awards for excellent teaching and distinguished service. In 2017, she was appointed dean and professor of management and organization at the Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management at Cornell University. Research background Dr. Wooten's extensive research included an NIH-funded study of how leadership can alleviate health disparities. She co-wrote two books: Positive Organizing in a Global Society: Understanding and Engaging Differences for Capacity Building and Inclusion and Leading Under Pressure: From Surviving to Thriving Before, During, and After a Crisis. When she began at Simmons, she quipped, "I'm living my research!" She brings to Simmons not only a toolkit to repair the damage wrought by the pandemic, but a detailed blueprint of how to "build back better," to borrow a phrase from President Biden. Back in 1899, Simmons College was founded by a visionary man to not merely educate women, but also to prepare them to be self-sufficient. Now Simmons University has a visionary leader who is addressing the opportunity gap in our society in a myriad of ways that advance social justice and equity. Outside of academia, Dr. Wooten has been a leadership consultant to organizations, including the Kellogg Foundation, Harvard's Kennedy School and Google. She also volunteers with Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Jack and Jill of America, Junior League and The Links Inc. Poet laureate, song Mind you, there are other choice reasons to listen to the MLK Jr. Observance. Arlington Poet Laureate Steven Ratiner will recite a poem that he has written to honor Dr. King. Pastor Ross Goodman of St. Paul Evangelical Lutheran Church will give the invocation. Jillian Harvey, director of diversity, equity and inclusion for Arlington's Health and Human Services, is the mistress of ceremonies. The benediction will be given by the Rev. Erica Richmond of First Parish Unitarian Universalist Church. Last, tune in for the uplifting melodies. Find solace in the sonorous strains of organ music performed by music director Paul White. A master of gospel, classical and jazz music, he will rock the piano and have you belting out the "Anthem of Freedom" in the comfort of your home, knowing that folks are doing the same all over Arlington in tribute to our slain civil-rights leader. This event is put on by an interfaith group centered in Arlington. Donations: Mail checks to: Martin Luther King Jr. Birthday Observance of Arlington, Mass.,, P.O. Box 320, Arlington, MA 02476, or donations can be made online at: Arlington MLK Jr. Birthday Observance Committee GoFundMe campaign. YourArlington.com has provided news and opinion about Arlington, Mass., since 2006. Publisher Bob Sprague is a former editor at The Boston Globe, Boston Herald and Arlington Advocate. Read more at https://www.yourarlington.com/about.