January 5, 2018
For Immediate Release:
Mayor Terence Roberts and the Anderson City Council announce the eleventh annual Mayor’s Martin Luther King, Jr. Breakfast to be held on Friday, January 12 at 8 AM at the Civic Center of Anderson.
This year’s event will feature keynote speaker Lee A. Gill, J.D., Chief Diversity Officer and Special Assistant to the President for Inclusive Excellence at Clemson University. Mr. Gill will share his message of diversity and inclusion as it relates to higher education and its importance through all aspects of life as a part of Dr. King’s legacy in remarks titled “Inclusive Excellence and the King Dream.”
“We are pleased to have Mr. Gill as part of our program this year,” Mayor Roberts said. “He has been a champion for diversity throughout his career and is a living example of carrying forth Dr. King’s vision at the university and community level.”
Mr. Gill has more than 25 years of private and public sector experience working with major corporate executives, law firm executive committees, hospital administrators, and college presidents. His passionate belief is that no organization can afford not to harness the rainbow of demographic change for a competitive advantage. As he views it, “The Business Case for Diversity” is akin to the education process, “Learn it well and be rewarded. Fail to learn it and be left behind.”
Mr. Gill received his B.A. degree in Political Science and Sociology from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, and his Juris Doctor Degree in law from the Illinois Institute of Technology, Kent College of Law, Chicago, IL.
In April 2016, Mr. Gill was appointed to his current post at Clemson University. He serves on numerous boards of directors including the Upstate Urban League, NCORE (National Conference on Race and Ethnicity in Higher Education), the National Conference of Artists, and Hispanic Alliance. In 2014, he received the National Diversity Visionary Award from Insight into Diversity magazine for his significant contributions to diversity in higher education. In addition, Greenville Business Magazine named Gill “One of Greenville’s 50 Most Influential People” for 2016.
Guests at the breakfast will also be treated to a choral performance by the Chamber Choir of Southwood Academy of the Arts. The choir has consistently received excellent and superior ratings at state and national choral festivals and within recent years they have performed on stage with the band “Foreigner” and at the South Carolina School Boards Association annual conference.
“The City is proud to offer this event as a time to reflect on and learn from the tenants of Dr. King,” Mayor Roberts said. “We invite you to join us for what has become one of our community’s most cherished occasions.”
Anderson University is this year’s Dream Sponsor and other sponsors for the event include Duke Energy, AnMed and the City of Anderson.
The event is free and open to the public. Doors open at 7:45 AM, breakfast will be served at 8:15 AM and the program will begin at 8:30 AM. Please make reservations by calling 864-231-1135 or email bbell@cityofandersonsc.com.