COE Professor Talmadge Guy Among Three Receiving President's Fulfilling the Dream Award

Town and gown came together at the annual Freedom Breakfast on January 14 on the University of Georgia campus to recognize community leaders who keep the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. alive through their leadership and humanitarianism.

During the breakfast, UGA Senior Vice President for External Affairs Steve Wrigley announced the recipients of the second annual President's Fulfilling the Dream Award. The awards ceremony and breakfast were held in the Georgia Hall of the Tate Center and were keynoted by Athens-Clarke County Chief Magistrate Court Judge Patricia Barron.

The President's Fulfilling the Dream Award recognizes individuals who have made significant efforts to build bridges of unity and understanding among residents of Athens-Clarke County. According to Keith D. Parker, associate provost for institutional diversity at UGA, three citizens were cited for their work in and contributions to the community.

“This year's award recipients are Sister Margarita Martin, a member of the Handmaids of the Sacred Heat of Jesus Order; Barbara Thurmond Archibald, executive director of the Athens Tutorial Program; and Talmadge Guy, associate professor in the UGA College of Education,” he said. “These wonderful people are making a positive difference in the lives of citizens of the Athens-Clarke County and UGA communities.”

Martin is one of three sisters who established the convent Oasis Cat \ lico Santa Rafaela, which ministers to the needs of the Pine Woods Estates North community. Her work includes hosting ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) classes for young Latino mothers and supervising the UGA tutorial program at the Oasis. Martin has organized clothing and food drives and worked to bring public transportation to Pine Woods Estates North, giving families access to shopping, healthcare and employment. She regularly serves as a translator and helps community residents adjust to their new social, political and economic environments.

Last year, Martin hosted a celebration of the life of Martin Luther King Jr., which included a community meal, a traditional piñata full of candy, children's videos in Spanish about King's life and books about famous civil rights leaders. Through her work, Martin promotes King's teachings of nonviolence, racial harmony and service to the community.

Archibald has served as executive director of the Athens Tutorial Program since 1983, coordinating a community-based after-school tutorial program for at-risk youth. Her responsibilities include long-range planning, program development, fund-raising and community relations. She also serves as program liaison to principals, teachers, community leaders and social service organizations and agencies. She has received numerous awards and two keys to the city of Athens for her community service and leadership efforts. Whether she is serving on the advisory board of a nursing clinic for the homeless or providing tutorial services for students, Archibald is committed to service and instills that commitment in her students.

One of Archibald's former students and a captain in the U.S. Army, Cornelius Pope, recalled her influence on his life. “It was Mrs. Archibald's commitment and devotion that propelled me through life challenges during my youth. I have completed college and plan to enter law school,” he said. “Presently, I serve our country as a captain in the United States military. It is under her tutelage that I learned what service really meant. It was denying self for the well-being of others. It was giving of self without expecting anything in return. It was working in the humblest environments to help ensure that everyone had the opportunity for life success. It is with these values that I return to Kuwait .”

Guy is a university professor who challenges his students and colleagues to grow in their understanding and awareness of human and societal differences. He has developed courses and made presentations where equity and diversity are at the core of the discussion. Through his extensive research, publishing and teaching, he has established a national reputation on multicultural education and African-American adult education. His scholarship even has international reach. In 1999, he led a study course at the University of Manchester in England, which focused on multicultural education in an international context, and in 2001 and 2002, he connected his research to the wider African diaspora by leading study courses in southern Africa .

Locally Guy has been one of the guiding forces for the Clarke County School District 's Multicultural Education Task Force, which has developed and submitted to the superintendent and board of education a set of recommendations to help facilitate racial and cultural equity, understanding and competence in order to increase academic achievement for all students. The recommendations are being used as the foundation for organizational, curricular, instructional and professional learning modifications at the district and within the schools. Guy is generous with his time and exemplifies King's legacies of goodwill and hope.

The first President's Fulfilling the Dream Awards were presented by UGA President Michael F. Adams at the Freedom Breakfast last year to Robert A. Pratt, a UGA history professor and author of the book We Shall Not Be Moved ; David C. Berle, an assistant professor in the horticulture department at UGA and a volunteer interested in Athens' heritage and the preservation of historically and culturally important sites in the city; Trudy Bradley, director of the Clarke County Mentor Program, who is dedicated to helping all students in the Clarke County School District achieve success; and Evelyn C. Neely, a community activist known as the “Mayor of East Athens.”

Friday, January 14, 2005
Writer: Cynthia C. Hoke, 706/542-1024, cchoke@uga.edu
Contact:  Keith D. Parker, 706/583-8195, kdparker@uga.edu