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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
Ron Harris
Director of Communications
Office of University
Communications
202.683.0182
rjharris@howard.edu
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HHS
Secretary Kathleen Sebilius to Highlight Convocation, MLK Week at Howard
University
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WASHINGTON
(Jan. 10) --
Kathleen Sebelius, secretary
of the Department of Health
and Human Services and
the nation’s highest
ranking health official,
will be the keynote speaker
for the Howard University
School of Divinity Spring
Semester Convocation at
noon Tuesday, Jan. 18,
in the Andrew Rankin Memorial
Chapel.
Sebelius, who leads the
principal agency charged
with keeping Americans
healthy, will discuss
the implementation of
the Obama Administration’s
historic legislation,
the Affordable Care Act,
as a continuation of the
nation’s civil rights
struggle during the University’s
annual weeklong celebration
of the legacy of the Rev.
Martin Luther King.
Alton B. Pollard III,
dean of the School of
Divinity, said having
Sebelius as the convocation
keynote speaker reflects
the school’s mission
of tending to society’s
spiritual and physical
needs.
“We welcome Secretary
Kathleen Sebelius and
her leadership in ensuring
that all our citizenry
are franchised in mind
and body, as well as spirit
for the healing of the
nation,” Pollard
said. |
| “Only
a holistic and progressive
understanding of religion
that is concerned with
the totality of life -
body, mind and soul -
in the face of continued
inequities, can be relied
upon to guard the critical
interests of our communities.”
Since
taking office as secretary,
Sebelius, governor of
Kansas from 2003 to
2009, has been at the
forefront of efforts
to build a 21st century
health care system,
from putting a new focus
on prevention and wellness
to promoting electronic
medical records to expanding
the primary care workforce.
Health and Human Services
under Sebelius has played
a key role in the Obama
Administration’s
response to the economic
downturn, helping families
stay on their feet by
providing health care,
job training, child
care and energy assistance.
In addition, her agency
coordinated the federal
response to the 2009
H1N1 virus and helped
provide medical assistance
following the oil spill
in the Gulf of Mexico
and the devastating
earthquake in Haiti.
Sebelius is also working
with Secretary of Agriculture
Tom Vilsack to dramatically
improve the nation’s
food safety system and
with Attorney General
Eric Holder to stamp
out health care fraud.
She has teamed up with
Secretary of Education
Arne Duncan to raise
the quality of early
childhood education
programs and with Housing
and Urban Development
Secretary Shaun Donovan
to improve the lives
of seniors and people
with disabilities who
wish to live at home.
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