The panel discussion “Educational Panel: Public and Private Schools: What's Working, What's Not,” will take place Wednesday, Jan. 30, 4-5:30 p.m., in the MUB Strafford Room. The event is part of UNH’s annual Martin Luther King Jr. celebration.

Commemorative speaker Rob Dixon and visiting professor Winston Thompson will join community leaders to discuss what freedoms and responsibilities serve us best as we strive toward the building of King’s beloved community. What do we need to know about education underserving some of us? How are some initiatives working? How are other, well-intentioned programs not achieving their goals? What are the personal impacts of poorly performing schools? How are after-school programs working? How do we continue to build community in our educational institutions?

Dixon, a record-setting UNH basketball player and former professional athlete, became an educator and community activist following his graduation from UNH in 1983. He organized the Boston area establishment of the non-profit Project RISE (Respect, Integrity, and Success through Education), which has the impressive record of a 96 percent high school graduation rate. His program asks students to focus on their life experiences and to consider how they may be leaders in a world of challenging realities.

 A nationally recognized youth advocate, Dixon was named an “All-Star Among Us” by People magazine for his commitment to bettering the lives of children. Presidents Barack Obama, George W. Bush, Bill Clinton, George H.W. Bush, and Jimmy Carter celebrated Dixon’s work at the 2009 MLB All-Star Game.

Thompson works in philosophy of education with an emphasis on topics of ethics and social/political philosophy.

His research on educational equity and fairness focuses upon the demands of justice in liberal contexts. His recent work is in underlying ethical issues relevant to policy discussions around higher educational access in the United States. He is interested in the creation and cultivation of self-respect through educational experiences and has articulated the moral necessity of the recognition of human dignity in the design of educational systems.

He is currently considering the role of autonomy across cultures and the limitations of western political and moral philosophy. Thompson has presented and published his work internationally and taught at Hofstra University, New York University, and Teachers College, Columbia University.

Read more on UNH's MLK Jr. celebration at http://unh.edu/inclusive/mlk-celebration-2013.