The Office of Student Leadership of the University of The Bahamas (UB) in conjunction with Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., Iota Epsilon Lambda Chapter, will celebrate the life and legacy of Civil Rights Activist, the late Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., on Tuesday, 22nd January 2019 at 6:00 p.m., in Harry C. Moore Library and Information Centre, Auditorium, Oakes Field Campus. The theme of the lecture is: “Follow in His Footsteps…. Live the Dream”.
Dr. King was a member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., the first black intercollegiate Greek-letter fraternity, founded on 4th December 1906, at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York by seven college men known as the “Jewels” of the fraternity.
They are Henry Arthur Callis, Charles Henry Chapman, Eugene Kinckle Jones, George Biddle Kelley, Nathaniel Allison Murray, Robert Harold Ogle, and Vertner Woodson Tandy.
Mr. Casey Bethel, keynote speaker is a product of both public and private school systems in The Bahamas. He attended Palmdale Primary School and St. Augustine’s College.
He is a graduate of Fort Valley State University with a Bachelor’s degree in Pre-medicine, and the University of Georgia (UGA), where he earned a Master’s degree in Plant Genetics.
He is one of UGA’s top 40 Alumni Under 40, and a member of the Fort Valley State Alumni Ring of Honor.
In 2017, Mr. Bethel was selected as the Georgia Teacher of the Year and the runner-up for National Life Changer of the Year. He is a passionate educator, an accomplished scientist, and a mentor to students of all ages.
Mr. Bethel taught high school science for 14 years and is now the Science Coordinator for the Douglasville School District, Georgia, coordinating curriculum, resources, and teacher professional development for 16 schools.
Additionally, Bethel blogs on topics related to Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education, student engagement, teacher recruitment and retention, and school discipline reform.
In March 2018, Bethel was invited to The White House and US Department of Education and led a panel at the National Forum on Education Policy in May 2018.
As a scientist, he spent his first five years at the Center for Applied Genetic Technologies, and now conducts biochemistry research at Georgia Tech, hoping to find cures for Alzheimer’s disease, and Inherited Glaucoma.
His team’s most recent findings were published in Nature-Chemical Biology.
Caption: Keynote Speaker, Mr. Casey Bethel
About University of The Bahamas
Chartered on 10th November 2016, University of The Bahamas (UB) is a beacon for national transformation. Approximately 5,000 students are enrolled in the University of The Bahamas system which includes campuses and centers on New Providence, Grand Bahama, San Salvador and Abaco, as well as UB online education. UB’s diverse academic programs, research engagements, athletics and leadership development experiences equip our students to become global citizens in a dynamic world. For more information visit www.ub.edu.bs.
