Catherine Meeks to discuss ?Embracing Diversity’ at CLU

THOUSAND OAKS, CA –– As part of the California Lutheran University Artists and Speakers Series, Catherine Meeks, Ph.D., will present a discussion on “Crossing Borders and Building Bridges: Embracing Diversity as a 21st Century Survival Strategy” on Monday, Oct. 4, at 10 a.m. in Samuelson Chapel.

Raised on a farm in Arkansas, a teenage Catherine Meeks picked cotton while attending school. She attributes her work ethic to that tiny farm and her parents, sharecroppers who taught her that education is the escape route from poverty.

After high school, Meeks moved to California to attend Pepperdine University where she earned her bachelor’s degree, then to Georgia, earning her master’s degree in social work from Atlanta University and a Ph.D. from Emory University.
For almost 20 years, Dr. Meeks taught African–American studies at Mercer University in Macon, Ga., before heading up the Youth Violence Prevention Task Force, which still operates out of Macon City Hall. She now serves as the Clara Carter Acree Distinguished Professor of Social Science at Wesleyan College and is the first black professor to hold tenure at the historic women’s college. She also serves as Executive Director of Aunt Maggie’s Kitchen, which offers help and support to homeless and needy women. In her book, I Want Somebody to Know My Name, Meeks tells the story of her odyssey from a scared little girl on an Arkansas farm to a strong and secure woman of faith.

Admission is free. For more information, call the CLU University Relations Office at (805) 493–3151 or visit www.clunet.edu.