Cleveland Orchestra, City of Cleveland, GCP announce Dr. M.L. King Community Service Award recipients

Friday, January 14, 2011

The Cleveland Orchestra and the City of Cleveland, in cooperation with the Greater Cleveland Partnership (GCP), today announced the recipients of the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Community Service Award, which recognizes an individual, a youth and a business or organization that have positively impacted Cleveland in the spirit of the teachings and example of Dr. King.

Cleveland State University Executive-in-Residence Dr. Julian Earls will receive the award for an individual, Glennville High School senior Cedric Thorbes will receive the award honoring a youth, and Baldwin-Wallace College’s Division of Student Affairs will receive the award honoring a business or organization. The recipients will be honored at the Orchestra’s 31st annual Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration Concert at 7 p.m., Sun., Jan. 16, 2011, at Severance Hall. Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson will present the awards.

Dr. Julian Earls

In 2010, a feature in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette called Dr. Earls “a prominent African-American physicist…known around the country as a Renaissance man.” In his advocacy of educational opportunities for our region’s young people, his drive for educational excellence, and his contributions to the economic health of our community, Dr. Earls sets the highest standard of achievement.

Currently the Executive-in-Residence in the Nance College of Business Administration at Cleveland State University, Dr. Earls is also a special assistant and advisor to the university’s president and a lecturer in high demand around the country, speaking on wide range of topics, including higher education models of excellence, as well as equality of opportunity and inclusiveness in the corporate workplace.

He holds a doctorate in radiation physics from the University of Michigan and numerous honorary degrees. He is a graduate of the Harvard Business School Program for Management Development. This past fall, he was named to Texas Congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson’s Science and Technology Braintrust, designed to foster positive interaction between African-American youth and influential African-American role models in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and math.

As the director of NASA/Glenn Research Center in Cleveland from 2003-2005, managing an annual budget of approximately $773 million, Dr. Earls raised the stature, accomplishment and world prestige of space exploration while simultaneously advancing the opportunities allowing gifted, qualified, and committed people of color to rise to new heights of achievement.

Recently, Dr. Earls enabled the creation of the Campus International School, a partnership between CSU and the Cleveland Metropolitan School District (CMSD) that will serve students through 12th grade by 2015, incorporating the curriculum of the International Baccalaureate program, internationally recognized for its academic rigor.

Cedric Thorbes

A Glenville High School senior, Cedric Thorbes already has distinguished himself as a leader. Currently, he serves as president of four organizations: Cleveland NAACP Youth Council, Cleveland Southern Christian Leadership Conference Youth Chapter, the BRICK (Brotherhood, Respect, Intelligence, Conduct, Knowledge) program for young men in Cleveland’s inner city, and the Class of 2011 at Glenville, where he carries a 4.0 average. Cedric also serves as a student leader and ambassador for the CMSD.

In addition to his civic involvement, Cedric is a member of the Glenville wrestling team and a second-place winner in a local NAACP contest (the Afro-Academic Cultural, Technological and Scientific Olympics) for his poetry. Cedric hopes to attend Morehouse College. He has been featured in Essence and Kaleidoscope magazines, as well as The Plain Dealer and Call & Post newspapers.

Baldwin-Wallace College Division of Student Affairs

Through its mission of supporting and accepting differences of gender, race, ethnicity, culture, and sexual preference, the Student Affairs Division of Baldwin-Wallace College advances Dr. King’s belief that leaders of all ages must come together to create a better world.

The varied programs of the Student Affairs Division help promote a climate of greater understanding: The B-W Scholars program helps young African-American men develop the academic skills and goals needed to reach college and to succeed in higher education. The B-W SPROUT (Single Parents Reach Out for Unassisted Tomorrows) program provides students with financial aid, housing, and child care, as well as visiting speakers.

Culture Night, initiated by International Student Services and the Academic and Cultural Events Series (A.C.E.S.), brings international cultures to the B-W campus. In addition, the Office of Community Outreach promotes community service involvement and connects students with volunteer opportunities at community centers, not-for-profits and nongovernmental organizations. Promoting principles of nonviolence, the student organization known as POWRE (Promoting Our Women’s Resources and Experiences) focuses on women’s rights, including the right to be free from domestic violence.

Award recipients will receive an engraved award commemorating the recognition, as well as special subscription packages to Cleveland Orchestra concerts at Severance Hall.

Nomination Process

Members of the Greater Cleveland community submitted nominations through the Cleveland Orchestra and the Greater Cleveland Partnership. A committee of seven community leaders reviewed the nominations and selected the award recipients. Committee members are: Robert P. Madison, chairman and CEO, Robert P. Madison International, Inc., also a trustee of the Musical Arts Association and chair of The Cleveland Orchestra’s Community Relations Committee; Yvonne Conwell, Cuyahoga County Councilwoman; Andrew Jackson, senior vice president, Greater Cleveland Partnership (GCP), and executive director, Commission on Economic Inclusion; Valarie J. McCall, Chief of Government Affairs, City of Cleveland; Stanley Miller, executive director, Cleveland Branch NAACP; Marsha Mockabee, interim president and CEO, The Urban League of Greater Cleveland; and Duane Thornton, president and executive director, The Presidents’ Council.

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