2023 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration of Human Rights Week: Full events list
Modified on 1/17/2023 at 11:18am

You’re invited to join your colleagues in our annual celebration of diversity and inclusion that occurs throughout the week of the Martin Luther King Jr. national holiday, beginning Monday, Jan. 16.


List of Events:*

*This list will be updated as more details are finalized. Please check back for updates. 

CultureVision Scavenger Hunt (Monday through Friday)

CultureVision is the first comprehensive, user-friendly database that gives healthcare professionals access to culturally competent patient care.

  • Visit CultureVision during Human Rights Week by using the links below and search for the answers to the Scavenger Hunt questions. Those who answer all questions correctly will have a chance to be entered into a drawing for Bread Garden treats.
  • Connect with CultureVision while you’re off campus, using Username: UIOWA and password: medicine1. CultureVision can also be accessed via The Point (under Top Links), The Loop (under Tools on the Employee Info page), clinical desktops, and at uiowa.edu/diversity (look for the CultureVision icon on the bottom left of the page).

Complete the UI Health Care 2023 Human Rights Week Passport.

  • You can use the Human Rights Week Passport form to track and reflect on your participation in diversity, inclusion, and equity seminars and activities during Human Rights Week. If you complete the form (at least three activities in January), you will receive a small token of appreciation and acknowledgement and be entered to win a raffle.

Monday, Jan. 16

  • Join the UI Day of Service: Each year, a Day of Service takes place during which we come together to serve our community alongside local non-profits.

Tuesday, Jan. 17

International Cuisine: Thailand

  • UI Hospitals & Clinics, Fountain Dining Room (Elevator C, Level 1)
    • 10:45 a.m. to 2 p.m.
  • Enjoy vegan red curry over jasmine rice with steamed pot stickers and coconut mango tapioca pudding.

Wednesday, Jan. 18

  • A service project opportunity with Meals on Wheels and UI AmeriCorps is available from 10 a.m. to noon. Contact paulina-solis@uiowa.edu with questions.
  • MLK Human Rights Week Distinguished Lecture will be delivered by Donald Warne, MD, MPH, co-director of Johns Hopkins Center for Indigenous Health, entitled “Innovative Pathways to Indigenous Health Equity,” from noon to 1 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 18, in Prem Sahai Auditorium, room 1110A in the Medical Education Research Facility. RSVP for the lecture.
    • A reception will follow the lecture in the Robillard Atrium from 1 to 2 p.m.
  • Watch a screening of the documentary “Just Us” at 6 p.m. within the UI College of Law. Stay after the screening for a panel discussion on the film from UI College of Law and Beloved Community. Contact shalisa-gladley@uiowa.edu with questions.

International Cuisine: Greece

  • UI Hospitals & Clinics, Fountain Dining Room (Elevator C, Level 1)
    • 10:45 a.m. to 2 p.m.
  • Try a chicken gyro or falafel bowl with a Greek salad and baklava.

Thursday, Jan. 19

International Cuisine: Cuba

  • UI Hospitals & Clinics, Fountain Dining Room (Elevator C, Level 1)
    • 10:45 a.m. to 2 p.m.
  • Enjoy ropa vieja, a traditional beef dish, with baked plantains as well as some Cuban rice and beans. Don’t forget about dessert with some tres leches cake.

Friday, Jan. 20

  • Ashley Howard, PhD, assistant professor of history at the UI, will speak at an event with the UI College of Law at 12:40 p.m. More details to come.
  • Carver College of Medicine students are sponsoring a United Action for Youth (UAY) literacy kit making event from noon to 1 p.m. Sign up online to participate.
  • A Volunteer Fair will be held at The Center. Time TBD.
  • A service project opportunity is available with House into Homes. Time and location TBD. Contact paulina-solis@uiowa.edu.

International Cuisine: Italy

  • UI Hospitals & Clinics, Fountain Dining Room (Elevator C, Level 1)
    • 10:45 a.m. to 2 p.m.
  • Featuring chicken piccata and lemon orzo with a Sicilian vegetable blend and a tiramisu for dessert.

Tuesday, Jan. 24

  • Join your colleagues at noon for a discussion to reflect on this year’s Human Rights Week and the impact of its activities. The discussion will be held in the Seebohm Conference Room, room 283 of the Eckstein Medical Research Building. Please register in advance. Lunch will be provided for in-person participants. A zoom link will be provided for those who choose to attend virtually.
  • The Department of Surgery will hold a virtual Grand Rounds with Bonnie Simpson Mason, MD, the first Medical Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion for the American College of Surgeons. Title and Zoom information are TBD.

Learn more about how the University of Iowa will celebrate Human Rights week.

Other resources


Celebration of Human Rights

Recognition of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthdate has been a tradition at the University of Iowa since 1969, and the national holiday has been observed through human rights programs since its inception in 1986. In 1990, the university initiated the Human Rights convocation program. Afternoon classes were canceled to encourage student, faculty, and staff participation in programs that encourage dialogue about diversity and reinforce the principle that the University is a forum for the free exchange of ideas. The convocation has been an opportunity for serious thinking by all of us about issues of social justice, human rights, and world peace.

An official University holiday was designated in 1995 to provide an opportunity to engage the University community in a discussion of the human values that the King holiday epitomizes. These initial events have grown into a campus-wide celebration that engages faculty, staff, students, and community members to give lectures, discussions, and cultural arts presentations.

Check back for updates to this page on how UI Health Care will celebrate the week. Watch for more details from the UI on how it will commemorate the week in 2023.