Karen Bankston, PhD, associate dean for clinical practice, partnership and community engagement in the College of Nursing, will present the keynote address at "A Tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. sponsored by the African American Cultural and Resource Center (AACRC).
The event is open to the public and will begin at noon Tuesday, Jan. 12, in the Great Hall on the fourth floor of Tangeman University Center (TUC). The events theme is "Continuing the Legacy: A Call to Action.
Bankston, a 2005 graduate of the College of Nursing doctoral program, joined the university in 2012, and as an associate dean, is responsible for developing and maintaining partnerships and collaborations with nursing and other disciplines to provide leading-edge clinical experiences and community engagement for students.
She is a former administrator at University Hospital, now UC Medical Center, having served at the hospital from 1990 until 2002 in various roles including vice president of patient care services, chief nurse executive, vice president of operations and chief operations officer.
Bankston also served as senior vice president of external affairs at the Health Alliance of Greater Cincinnati, senior vice president and CEO of Drake Center, Inc. (now Daniel Drake Center for Post-Acute Care) and as president of KDB and Associates Consulting Service in Cincinnati.
She is responsible for working with collaborators to secure several major grants for the College of Nursing including $1 million from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services for Leadership, 2.0: Nursings Next Generation Program and a $2.5 million grant from the Office of Minority Health in HHS for the Pathways for Emerging Healthcare Leaders Program.
Bankston holds several honors including the Marie Brown Award, an honor named for a UC Medical Center employee that recognizes an unsung hero who has enhanced UCMC through continuing, ongoing efforts, including interdisciplinary research efforts within or between colleges. She was also named a 2013 Kautz Alumni Master through UCs Kautz Alumni Masters Program designed to connect students with professionals in various disciplines who have achieved the upper strata of professional development.
Among many other prestigious awards, Bankston received the 2013 South Central Ohio Healthcare Supplier Diversity Spirit of Diversity Award, the 2011 National Diversity Council Glass Ceiling Award, the 2010 United Way of Greater Cincinnati Joseph A. Hall Diversity Leadership Award and the 2008 National Diversity Councils Ohios Most Powerful and Influential Women Award.
Before the MLK event a solidarity walk will begin at 11:30 a.m. at UCs Russell C. Myers Alumni Center and proceed to TUC. Co-sponsors of the tribute event are the College of Education, Criminal Justice, and Human Services; the Office of Student Activities and Leadership Development (SALD); the Office of Ethnic Programs and Services; and the LGBTQ Center.
King, a Baptist minister and social activist, is considered the father of the American Civil Rights Movement. He was the chief spokesman for nonviolent activism which led to an end of legalized racial segregation and was instrumental in the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which outlawed discrimination in public accommodations, facilities and employment and the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which was designed to remove legal barriers preventing African-Americans from voting.
Kings birthday is January 15. If he were alive to celebrate it King would be 87. A federal holiday honors his achievements and is observed annually on the third Monday of January.
