One of the highlights of Dartmouth's annual celebration of the life of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is the recognition of alumni and members of the Dartmouth community for their contributions to the fields of civil rights, education, environmental justice, public service, and public health. This year, Dartmouth bestowed six Social Justice Awards at an on-campus ceremony on Jan. 29.
Dartmouth alumni Thomas S. Clark '92, DMS'01 and Jennifer Rottmann '02 were named in the Emerging Leadership category. Clark is founder and CEO of Grassroots Soccer, an international AIDS-awareness organization that trains professional soccer players to be AIDS educators. Rottmann contributes significantly to local and national efforts in promoting social justice through her work at the Center for Community Change in Washington, D.C.
Tuck graduate Jeffrey Swartz Tu'84, president and CEO of Timberland, was recognized for Ongoing Commitment. He created Timberland's Social Enterprise Department, which includes the award-winning Path of Service program for employees. Swartz also serves on the boards of a number of nonprofits.
William Sloane Coffin Jr., a Montgomery Fellow in 1997, received the Lifetime Achievement award for his more than forty years' work as a civil rights and peace activist.
Alumni Trudell Guerue Jr. '74 and David Shipler '64 received the Lester Granger '18 Award. Guerue, an attorney, is responsible for the legal representation of clients at the Legal Rights Center, a nonprofit poverty and criminal-defense law firm. Shipler, a former New York Times correspondent and Dartmouth trustee emeritus, has won numerous awards, including a Pulitzer Prize, for his literary focus on critical social justice issues.
The Lester Granger '18 Award is named in honor of Granger, who dedicated his life to education, racial equality, and public service.
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