Palouse Area Human Rights Leaders Receive Distinguished Service MLK Awards

PULLMAN, Wash. — An undergraduate student, two faculty members and two organizations from the Palouse area will be honored Monday Jan. 16 afternoon for their outstanding contributions to promoting human rights.

The Martin Luther King Jr. Distinguished Service awards will be presented during a reception at the Washington State University Museum of Art as part of the annual Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration. The Celebration is a collaborative effort between WSU, the University of Idaho and many entities within Moscow and Pullman.

In considering nominations for the award, the selection committee sought individuals and organizations that exemplify the ideals of Dr. King by making meaningful contributions to our communities through leadership, service and education.  Each award recipient will receive a plaque engraved with their name.

The 2006 Martin Luther King Jr. Distinguished Service Award recipients are:

Derik Robinson.  A senior at the University of Idaho majoring in management and human resources and Spanish, Robinson is a leader in Sigma Lambda Beta Fraternity and UNITY—two organizations tied with UI’s office of Multicultural Affairs.  He has served as planning chair for Sigma Lambda Beta’s annual Women’s Appreciation Dinner, a UI Ambassador, chair of the Student Dean Advisory Board, historian of the Society for Human Resource Management and volunteer tutor for the College Assistance Migrant Program. In spite of his extensive extracurricular involvement, Robinson maintains a 4.0 grade point average. He is from Oakley, Idaho.

Noël Sturgeon. Nominators wrote that Sturgeon’s commitment to human rights and social justice is realized through her teaching, research and community activism. She is a professor and chair of Washington State University’s Department of Women’s Studies. Sturgeon is an active mentor for students and consistently teaches the ideals espoused by Dr. King inside and outside the classroom. She is known to take special interest in supporting junior faculty members — particularly those from underrepresented communities.

Rula Awaad-Rafferty. An associate professor in the Department of Interior Design at UI, Awaad-Rafferty serves as chair of the Borah Symposium, is an active member of UI’s diversity policy-making committee called Juntura, and is currently working with the Shoshone-Bannock Tribe to incorporate native culture into the designs created in her classrooms. She has served as a volunteer on the ad-hoc Presidential Diversity Programming Group and advised the International Students Association and Middle Eastern Students Association.

YWCA. This organization has been an integral part of WSU since 1896. For the past 22 years, the YWCA at WSU has planned and implemented the Racial Justice Conference in their continuous advocating for the elimination of racism. Since its beginning, the YWCA has engaged community members as young as preschool age to embrace the ideals of justice, equity and non-violence through art and the written word. Through educational programs, public participation projects, art and the written word, the YWCA of WSU continues to raise awareness and engages in advocacy for social justice. Their mission statement is “The Elimination of Racism and the Empowerment of Women”. Wilhelmina O’Sarai-Clark, a long-standing YWCA member, will accept the award for the YWCA of WSU.

Gamma Alpha Omega Sorority.  In 1999 Gamma Alpha Omega became the first Latina founded sorority in the State of Idaho. The sorority’s objective is to support Hispanic/Latino communities as well as other communities in need, emphasizing youth. Members of GAO at the University of Idaho have provided leadership in numerous events such as Hispanic Heritage Month, Cinco de Mayo Celebration, Dia de los Muertos and Cesar Chavez Commemoration. Other activities include spearheading the Courtyard Show for multicultural Greek organizations, Moscow’s Adopt-A-Street program and organizing gift bags for victims of domestic violence.

Nominations for the Martin Luther King Jr. Distinguished Service awards are taken every year in the weeks leading up to the annual celebration.  Awards are considered in four categories including students, faculty/staff, community members and organizations.

Photos will be available after the event by contacting Steve Nakata at (509)335-1774 or nakata@wsu.edu.