RELEASED: December 18, 2008

DANVILLE, KY—Centre College will host a Leadership, Service and Diversity Days open house on campus Jan. 18-19. Students who attend will have the opportunity to actively engage in community service during their visit and participate in Centre's celebration of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s legacy. The College welcomes all prospective students who identify themselves as service and/or diversity leaders in their high school and local community.

The program is developed around the theme "A Day On, Not a Day Off," made possible by an MLK Challenge Grant.

"Centre is one of a select number of schools statewide that was awarded the MLK Challenge Grant," says Ned Frazer, associate director of admission. "The MLK Challenge is a region-wide effort to get people engaged in community-based service work in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King's legacy."

Bringing together high school and college students throughout the community, the MLK Challenge focuses on King's vision that calls everyone to "rise above the narrow confines of (our) individualistic concerns to the broader concerns of all humanity."

During the open house, Centre students will connect with local high school students, as well as prospective students interested in attending the College, through community services activities to focus on positive change in honor of King. The community service will be conducted at a variety of community agencies in the Danville community, including the Salvation Army, Habitat for Humanity, the Humane Society, Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Bluegrass, local food pantries, and others. Reflection upon what it means to actively contribute to the community will be a key component of the service activities, linking student service work to the mission of the agencies, as well as to the legacy of King.

"It's our intention that by engaging students in working with and for the community that we'll cultivate an understanding of the value of service to others and thereby encourage students to engage in additional service in the future," Frazer says.

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Founded in 1819, Centre College is ranked among the U.S. News top 50 national liberal arts colleges. Consumers Digest ranks Centre No. 1 in educational value among all U.S. liberal arts colleges. Centre alumni, known for their nation-leading loyalty in annual financial support, include two U.S. vice presidents and two Supreme Court justices. For more, visit http://www.centre.edu/web/elevatorspeech/

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