(Posted January 18, 2022)

Dr.Crystal Sellers Battle

Dr.Crystal Sellers Battle

HUNTINGDON, Pa.— A full week of activities in observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service will kick off the start of the spring 2022 semester at Juniata College. 

Taking place the third Monday in January each year, the Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service (MLK Day) is a federal holiday designated by Congress as a national day of service — “a day on, not a day off.”

“While a day on is fitting for reaching out to our local communities, I am encouraged that we at Juniata are spending the week connecting with our local community and serving in as many ways as possible,” says Dr. Crystal Sellers Battle, Dean of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion.

Sellers Battle will deliver the keynote address, “Through the Lens of a Letter from a Birmingham Jail,” at Juniata’s Martin Luther King Jr. Convocation, at 6 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 19, in A100, Brumbaugh Academic Center. This event will also be available via Zoom at https://juniata.zoom.us/j/92849192267?pwd=QWt0VmhieUo0S3FEUUJxb0NSSDJYZz09

“Although written in 1963, the words of Dr. King’s letter still resonate with us today,” says Sellers Battle. “I am often moved by those words and hope to share how those words frame the work I do in equity, diversity, and inclusion.”

As Juniata’s senior diversity officer, Sellers Battle is responsible for continuing to build, operationalize, and integrate efforts that support and enhance equity and inclusivity in the College’s learning environment and community. 

Campus and community will come together at 7 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 20, for an evening of information conversation on community building at Juniata Brewing Co., 1102 Susquehanna Ave., Huntingdon. Members of the Huntingdon community are welcome and masks are encouraged. 

A screening of the 2014 film, Selma, will be held in A100 of Brumbaugh Academic Center at 7 p.m. Friday, Jan. 21, with small group discussions to follow. The film is based upon the 1965 Selma to Montgomery voting rights marches. 

Throughout the day Saturday, Jan. 22, Juniata students, faculty, and staff will assist local organizations in the Mount Union and Huntingdon areas with a variety of community service projects. 

Contact April Feagley at feaglea@juniata.edu or (814) 641-3131 for more information.