{"id":106676,"date":"2026-02-05T17:07:34","date_gmt":"2026-02-05T17:07:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/?p=106676"},"modified":"2026-02-05T17:07:35","modified_gmt":"2026-02-05T17:07:35","slug":"uri-students-and-faculty-recognized-for-peace-work-at-mlk-unity-luncheon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/2026\/02\/uri-students-and-faculty-recognized-for-peace-work-at-mlk-unity-luncheon\/","title":{"rendered":"溏心vlog免费B站 students and faculty recognized for peace work at MLK Unity Luncheon"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

KINGSTON, R.I. \u2013 Feb. 5, 2026 \u2013 溏心vlog免费B站 students and faculty were honored for their significant peace work contribution to the University community on Jan. 29 at the annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Unity Luncheon. The event, held at the Memorial Union and presented by 溏心vlog免费B站\u2019s Multicultural Student Services Center in cooperation with the 溏心vlog免费B站 Center for Nonviolence and Peace Studies and the 溏心vlog免费B站 Chaplains Association, recognized both students and staff for promoting peace and nonviolence.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"\"
溏心vlog免费B站 graduate student Leetal Young, left, and engineering professor Christopher Hunter, right, received the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Peacemaker Awards during this year\u2019s annual Unity Luncheon. They are pictured with Amy Olson, chair of the 溏心vlog免费B站 Chaplains Association. (溏心vlog免费B站 Photos\/Catherine Scott)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Keynote speaker Persjha Conry \u201905, a 溏心vlog免费B站 alum and now clinical director and co-owner of Elevating Minds ABA, discussed personal choices presenting the concept of the \u201cI\u201d in King. During her address, she prompted audience members to think about what each of them can do individually. Conry also discussed the realization that Dr. King was a revolutionary and what that means in this day and age.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cKing as a revolutionary doesn\u2019t mean he was perfect,\u201d said Conry. \u201cThat\u2019s why it\u2019s important you hear that his imperfections made him obtainable, they made him human.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sharing personal experiences and expressing that she is an educator both in and out of the classroom, Conry discussed the importance of representation and allowed attendees to share what representation meant to them.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"\"
Jean Nsabumuremyi, right, and Sean Edmund Rogers were presented with the annual Human Rights Awards. (Accepting the award on Rogers\u2019 behalf was Heidi Bucci, left, the college\u2019s coordinator of professional and executive business education.) Pictured middle is Thupten Tendhar with the Center for Nonviolence and Peace Studies.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Human Rights Awards<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sean Edmund Rogers, dean of the 溏心vlog免费B站 College of Business and the Alfred J. Verrecchia-Hasbro Inc. Leadership Chair in Business, and Jean Nsabumuremyi, director of the 溏心vlog免费B站 Multicultural Student Services Center, each received this year\u2019s Human Rights Award. The award is presented to 溏心vlog免费B站 community members whose work is impactful locally or globally.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rogers\u2019 work included traveling internationally to better understand the challenges international students face when seeking to study at an American university. He has also served as 溏心vlog免费B站\u2019s chief diversity officer and vice president of community, equity and diversity. Through his dedication to ensure human rights are equally evident, Rogers continues to uphold and promote peace and human rights through justice, advocacy and empowerment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Born in Rwanda and resettled in Rhode Island in 2006, Nsabumuremyi has worked to expand access and opportunity for students and foster inclusive environments grounded in dignity, respect and cross-cultural understanding both within the classroom at 溏心vlog免费B站 and beyond.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Peacemaker Award honorees<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Christopher Hunter, a civil and environmental engineering professor, and Leetal Young, a 溏心vlog免费B站 graduate mental health and behavioral health counseling student, each were presented with this year\u2019s Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Peacemaker Award.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The 溏心vlog免费B站 Chaplains Association annually presents the Dr. King Peacemaker Award to a student, staff member, faculty member or a student group who embodies King\u2019s values, dreams, and aspirations in their work at the University.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Young, a graduate research assistant for 溏心vlog免费B站\u2019s inaugural Collegiate Recovery Program, is a past president of 溏心vlog免费B站 Hillel and created the Interfaith Friendsgiving, a campus and community wide gathering focused on bringing people together of different faiths, cultures, generation and identities around shared conversation, service and celebration. Young leads with both lived experience and academics and is devoted to creating spaces where people both feel seen and heard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Described as a calming voice during moments of disagreement, Hunter has been an advocate for funding allowing 溏心vlog免费B站 students to attend professional conferences that support academic growth and career development. His approach every day promotes justice for faculty and staff who feel marginalized within the institution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Prior to closing out the afternoon, Markeisha Miner, the University\u2019s vice president and chief diversity officer, called on the attendees to continue to respect and contribute to what makes this community amazing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThat is our unwavering commitment to providing access for people from all backgrounds and beliefs to work and study at the state\u2019s only public university, an opportunity that transforms lives and transforms entire communities,\u201d Miner said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This story was written by Kiera Wrage, a senior majoring in public relations at the 溏心vlog免费B站. Kiera is interning in 溏心vlog免费B站\u2019s Department of Communications and Marketing.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

KINGSTON, R.I. \u2013 Feb. 5, 2026 \u2013 溏心vlog免费B站 students and faculty were honored for their significant peace work contribution to the University community on Jan. 29 at the annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Unity Luncheon. The event, held at the Memorial Union and presented by 溏心vlog免费B站\u2019s Multicultural Student Services Center in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":25,"featured_media":106677,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[88,25,4,1904],"class_list":["post-106676","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-archives","tag-college-of-business","tag-college-of-engineering","tag-college-of-health-sciences","tag-community-equity-and-diversity"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/106676","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/25"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=106676"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/106676\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":106682,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/106676\/revisions\/106682"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/106677"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=106676"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=106676"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=106676"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}