Amy Milligan, Old Dominion University’s Batten Endowed Assistant Professor in Jewish Studies and Women’s Studies and director of the Institute of Jewish Studies and Interfaith Understanding, received a community leader award at the 35th annual Urban League of Hampton Roads Martin Luther King Jr. Breakfast.
The event was hosted by Old Dominion University and co-sponsored by Norfolk State University and Eastern Virginia Medical School. It took place at the Ted Constant Center on Monday, Jan. 21. Jay Jones, a member of the Virginia House of Delegates for the 89th District, was the keynote speaker.
John R. Broderick, president, Old Dominion University, presented Milligan with her award.
Milligan, who received the Broderick Diversity Champion Award, considers her position at ODU her “dream job.” Her research and advocacy focus on communities whose stories aren’t always in the majority: women, Jews of color, disabled Jews, LGBT Jews, and small-town Jews.
Following last year’s synagogue shooting in Pittsburgh, Milligan organized a campus ceremony. She also helped Old Dominion in its first public celebration of Hanukkah.
Started in 1984, the Martin Luther King Jr. Community Leaders’ awards are presented to individuals or groups who promote positive images, exemplify community service, demonstrate the values that model those of Dr. King, and show evidence of the impact their contributions make in the lives of others.
Other awardees this year were: Narketta Sparkman-Key, assistant professor of counseling and human services at ODU; Sara Carroll, executive director for Sara’s Mentoring Center, Inc., and owner of A-1 Environmental Services Inc.; Barbara Willis, CEO of Hampton Roads Community Health Center; Cardell C. Patillo, youth pastor and community leader; and Donovan Stokes, student at Norfolk State University.