Nominations Open for 2024 MLK Humanitarian Awards

Faculty and staff are invited to nominate a CofC faculty, staff or community member who embodies the ideals of racial equity, inclusivity and social justice espoused by Martin Luther King Jr. for the Black History Intercollegiate Consortium‘s (BHIC) 2024 MLK Humanitarian Awards. Nominations are open through Nov. 20, 2023.

BHIC is comprised of the College of Charleston, the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC), Trident Technical College, The Citadel and Charleston Southern University. It was co-founded in the late 1980s by the affirmative action officers from the College and MUSC to enhance racial harmony between the Charleston region’s five institutions of higher education and the communities they serve. Every year, a deserving representative from each of the five colleges is presented an MLK Humanitarian Award at the BHIC’s annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Celebration, which brings students, faculty, staff and community members together for an uplifting evening of song and spoken word on the Tuesday following MLK Day.

Awards will be presented by the person who nominated the recipient at the 2024 BHIC event, celebrating the organization’s 34rd anniversary from 6:30–8 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 16, 2024, at the Trident Technical College – Thornley (main) Campus.

Past award recipients from the College of Charleston include Joy Vandervort-Cobb (2023), professor emerita of theatre and dance; Rochelle Johnson (2022), director of the Office of Multicultural Student Programs and Services; Charissa Owens (2021), director of diversity education and training in the Office of Institutional Diversity; Kenyatta Grimmage (2020), assistant director of access and pre-college programs for the Office of Admissions; and Anthony Greene (2019), associate professor of African American studies.

To nominate a faculty, staff or community member for the 2024 MLK Humanitarian Awards, complete the nomination form by Nov. 20, 2023.