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USC Social Justice Awards recognize MLK's acts of teaching, service, outreach; three from Arnold School receive honors
January 21, 2011
India Rose, left, an Arnold School of Public
Health student, received the University
of South Carolina's Student Social
Justice Award honoring the life and legacy
of the late Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
She is shown with Columbia
Mayor Steve Benjamin, a USC alumnus.
Dr. Sacoby Wilson was one of two faculty
members to be recognized with a Social
Justice Award from the University of
South Carolina.
Andrea Williams of the Arnold School's
Institute for Partnerships to
Eliminate Health Disparities was the
USC staff member chosen to
receive the Social Justice Award of the
University of South Carolina.
Efforts by three members of the Arnold School of Public Health have been recognized with the presentation of 2011 Social Justice Awards by the University of South Carolina's Martin Luther King Jr. Committee.
The committee presented awards to four members of the university community who exemplify the philosophies of Dr. King through their acts of community service, social justice or racial reconciliation. The awards were presented to faculty, staff and students during the university's annual commemorative breakfast (Friday, Jan. 14) honoring the life and legacy of the late Martin Luther King Jr.
The faculty award, which recognizes outstanding accomplishments in teaching, research or creative work, service and outreach, was presented to Dr. Sacoby M. Wilson, a research assistant professor in the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics. Wilson was lauded for his studies on how communities are impacted by environmental hazards.
Much of Wilson's research is conducted through USC's Institute for Families in Society and is aimed at understanding how the built environment impacts vulnerable populations disproportionately.
"Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was the grandfather of environmental justice, and my work is a continuation of his work," Wilson said. "I try to bring science into poor communities and show them how to get involved and improve their quality of life."
Andrea Williams, associate director for the Institute for Partnerships to Eliminate Health Disparities (IPEHD), received the 2011 staff award. Williams helps develop the career paths of students pursuing degrees in the health professions.
"It's an honor to be recognized as someone who followed the example of Dr. King by helping pave the way for others to succeed," she said. "It's a blessing to be able to help others succeed, and that's what Dr. King was all about."
The 2011 student award was presented to Arnold School doctoral candidate India D. Rose for her work and commitment to winning equal rights for the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community.
"A right delayed is a right denied, and the rights of the LGBT community have been denied long enough," said Rose, who is seeing a degree from the Department of Health Promotion, Education, and Behavior.
Rose is a program facilitator at YouthPride, metropolitan Atlanta's only organization serving all LGBTQ youth. Rose also helped coordinate EVOLVE, the YouthPride's annual suicide prevention fundraiser for LGBT youth. This year's effort raised more than $10,000.
The second faculty member to receive a Social Justice award was Dr. Patricia Wilson-Witherspoon, medical director of the USC School of Medicine's department of family medicine. She trains residents in advocating for their patients.
"I like to take care of the individual patient because everyone can't advocate for himself," she said. "I am humbled that the work that I do is deemed worthy of this recognition."
Visit http://www.sc.edu/news/newsarticle.php?nid=1521 to view a video of the award recipients.
