Annual King Day celebration will be held; Harris to give keynote

Wesley L. Harris

Wesley L. Harris

Photo by William Litant/MIT

Princeton University will commemorate the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. with its annual King Day celebration on Monday, Jan. 18, in Richardson Auditorium of Alexander Hall. The keynote speaker for the 2016 celebration is Wesley L. Harris, the Charles Stark Draper Professor of Aeronautics and Astronautics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Harris also served as MIT's associate provost for faculty equity from 2008-13. He was the first African American to receive a Ph.D. in engineering at Princeton in 1968.

The event, which is free and open to the public, will begin at 1:15 p.m. Doors will open at 1 p.m. During the program the University will present the MLK Day Journey Award, recognizing members of the Princeton faculty, staff or student body who best represents King's continued journey. The Trenton Central High School Choir also will perform.

The King Day event will be webcast live. It is convened and coordinated by the institutional equity and diversity team in the offices of the provost and human resources.