Introduction It gives me great pleasure this afternoon to introduce ...

IntroductionIt gives me great pleasure this afternoonto introduceProfessor Eleanor Holmes Norton, who willgive the capstone lecture for ourtwo-day colloquium to honor Dr. MartinLuther King, Jr.Professor Norton is currently on the lawfaculty at Georgetown University.She formerly served as chair of the United StatesEqual Employment Opportunity Commissionfrom 1977 to 1981where she provided strong leadership alonga number of fronts including:affirmative actioncomparable worthfamily issuesand matters of race and sexPrior to that she chaired the New York CityCommission on Human Rights, as ExecutiveAssistant to the Mayor, and as AssistantLegal Director of the American Civil Liberties Union.Professor Norton received her undergraduatedegree from Antioch College, and holds bothgraduate and Law degrees from Yale University.She has served on a number of importantboards including the Rockefeller Foundation,the Martin Luther King, Jr. Center for Social Change,and the Yale Corporation.Professor Norton's distinguished career hasbrought her many honors, including 28 honorarydegrees.If I can make a couple of personal observations,Professor Norton's close association withYale brings back some very strong memoriesof my own undergraduate experiences at that university.Personal Observations...When I was a college student in the early 1960s,the burning issue on American college campuses was theCivil Rights movement...Students would spend their spring and summer vacationsengaged in voter registration activities, inprotests against segregationIndeed, at my commencement in 1964 at YaleUniversity, an honorary degree was awardedto the Reverand Martin Luther King, Jr...And we followed Dr. King's leadership in an effort to blazea new path of opportunity for all peoplesToday much has been accomplished...Many barriers are been broken down...Minority representation in all sectors of societyis larger than ever...There is much we can be proud of...Yet we also must acknowledge we still have avery long journey ahead of us...and wesimply must commit ourselves to increasingour efforts in this area.We simply have not been as successful in achievinga strong minority representation among ourstudents, our faculty and staff, our leadership.Furthermore, it has become increasingly apparent

that the environment on our campus is simply notas sensitive, tolerant, and supportive of racialdiversity as it should be...as it must be!\The Challenge:The Importance of DiversityIt seems imperative that universities such both,recognizeas Michigan both recognizethe importance of diversity and pluralism in itsmission...And make a firm commitment to its achievement:i) Through the recruitment, support, retention,and success of minority students, faculty,staff -- and leadersii) And through the development of anenvironment of mutual understandingand sensitivity that not only toleratesdiversity, but moveover seeks andembraces it as an essential objectiveof the institution.ExcellenceThere seems little doubt that our ability to achieveexcellence in teaching, scholarship, andservice will be determined over time toa considerable degree by the diversity andpluralism of our campus community.We draw strength from diversity.diversity.We have set before this University an importantnew agenda to achieve new levels of understanding,tolerance, and mutual fulfillment for peoples ofdiverse racial, cultural, gender, economic, andnational backgrounds.This will require major new commitments of human and financialresources. It will also require the active involvement andcooperation of our faculty, students, staff, alumni, friends,and supporters in the effort to move toward this importantgoal.It will require us to pull together as a community...in a new spirit of cooperation rather thanconfrontation...joining one another in ourmutual pursuit of a truly multicultural communityof scholars.A new fire...But let me suggest that something more is neededif we are to be successful in this mission ofdiversity.We need to rekindle the fire, the commitmentthat characterized Dr. King's movement iselfin the 1960s...And through our actions this past spring, we hopeto stimulate a renewal of commitment throughoutour University community and beyond...A commitment to the acceptance of, the striving for,and the achievement of diversity and excellence--two intimately related and mutually reinforcinggoals that we view as the key to the distinctionof the University in the years ahead.And I can think of no one better suited tohelping us rekindle this new commitment tothe great dream of Reverand King thanProfessor Eleanor Homes Norton...

Professor Norton...