Kentucky Wesleyan College will join the Owensboro Human Relations Commission and the Owensboro-Daviess County Education Community for a Martin Luther King Jr. Day march and celebration on Monday.
The public is invited to join a march that starts at noon Monday, with a keynote speaker event hosted at KWC’s Activity Hall the same evening. All participants are required to follow COVID-19 protocols including wearing face coverings and physical distancing. The keynote speaker will be available via live stream at kwc.edu.
This year’s march is from Owensboro High School to the KWC campus.
Those participating will gather at 11:45 a.m. in the OHS southeast parking lot on the corner of Ford Avenue and Frederica Street. The march starts at noon and heads south on Frederica Street before ending on the front steps of the KWC Barnard-Jones Administration Building.
Transportation will be provided by City of Owensboro Transit from KWC to OHS from 11:15 a.m. to noon and from KWC to Brescia University from 12:45 to 1:30 p.m.
At 6 p.m. Monday, Kentucky Wesleyan will host Dr. OJ Oleka as the celebration’s keynote speaker in Activity Hall (3300 Frederica St.). In order to comply with gathering protocols, a limited number of tickets will be available to the public for the event. Contact KWC Student Services at 270-852-3285 to reserve a ticket.
Oleka is the President of the Association of Independent Kentucky Colleges and Universities (AIKCU). AIKCU advocates for higher education policies at the state and federal level that will lead to increased affordability and access to Kentucky’s independent colleges.
Prior to AIKCU, Oleka was the Deputy Treasurer of the Commonwealth of Kentucky, where he worked on policy that streamlined government, developed the financial literacy standards for the Kentucky Department of Education, and protected the property rights of Kentuckians.
Oleka graduated from the University of Louisville with a bachelor’s degree in marketing and a minor in political science. He also has an MBA and a PhD in Leadership in Higher Education from Bellarmine University.
As a published researcher, Oleka has focused on college affordability, social capital, and workforce development. Oleka is passionate about ending generational poverty through educational opportunity and economic mobility and is the co-founder of the AntiRacismKY coalition — a group of Kentuckians working to end any remnant of institutional racism in Kentucky.
Oleka lives in Louisville, Ky., where he serves on the education and workforce development committee for the local chamber of commerce.
Kentucky Wesleyan College will also host a panel of community leaders on Tuesday at 6 p.m. The panel discussion will focus on investing in and advocating for the rights and wellbeing of marginalized groups and will be streamed on the College’s Facebook page at facebook.com/kywesleyan. The panel participants are still being confirmed.
