Sarah Willie-LeBreton, the 12th president of Smith College and daughter of Syracuse University’s first Black full professor, department chair and vice president Charles Willie G’57, H’92, will serve as featured speaker for the 40th Annual Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration on Sunday, Jan. 26, 2025, in the JMA Wireless Dome at Syracuse University. This year’s theme is “Living History.”
Tickets are now available. Due to a special 40th anniversary combined dinner program setting, guests are encouraged to reserve their tables and seats as soon as possible.
This annual event is known as the largest of its kind on any college campus. The dinner program seeks to honor the life and legacy of a leader who brings hope and healing to our world and is a direct expression of Syracuse University’s commitment to advancing academic excellence at a university welcoming to all.
“Forty is a special number, and 40 years is a special commitment. We are honored to welcome President Sarah Willie-LeBreton as our featured speaker for this historic 40th anniversary celebration,” says the Rev. Brian Konkol, vice president and dean of Hendricks Chapel. “Through her remarkable impact built through years of dedicated service, President Willie-LeBreton honors her father’s legacy by creating a legacy of her own, and she inspires us all to spark and sustain a better world.”
An accomplished administrator, scholar and sociologist who studies social inequality and race and ethnicity, Willie-LeBreton is known for her commitment to the liberal arts, strengthening community and energizing the work of equity and inclusion.
Willie-LeBreton earned a bachelor’s degree from Haverford College in 1986, and a master’s degree (1988) and Ph.D. (1995) from Northwestern University, all in sociology. After having taught at Colby College (1991–95) and Bard College (1995–97) in tenure-track appointments, she was tenured at Swarthmore College, where she served as coordinator of the Black Studies Program and chair of the Department of Sociology and Anthropology for a total of 17 years. She was appointed as provost and dean of the faculty at Swarthmore in 2018 and served in that role until 2023.
Willie-LeBreton currently serves on the boards of the Grand Canyon Conservancy, the Association of Independent Colleges and Universities in Massachusetts and the Consortium on Financing Higher Education. She is a member of and has been active in the Eastern Sociological Society, Sociologists for Women in Society, the Association of Black Sociologists and the American Sociological Association (ASA). For several years, she reviewed sociology and affiliated departments as a member of the ASA’s Departmental Resources Group.
Willie-LeBreton follows in the footsteps of her father, who came to Syracuse University in 1950 as a graduate student and teaching assistant in sociology. He later earned his doctorate in 1957 from the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs. When he was appointed chair of the sociology department in 1967, he became the first Black department chair in Syracuse University history and later, the first Black full professor. He served as vice president for student affairs from 1972-74, becoming the University’s first Black vice president. A graduate and class president of the Morehouse College class of 1948, Willie’s legacy will forever be tied to his classmate Martin Luther King Jr., whom he recruited to the Syracuse University campus to speak in 1961 and 1965.
The 2025 program marks the 40th year for the MLK Celebration at Syracuse University, which will include an address from Willie-LeBreton, student and community group performances, and a presentation of this year’s Unsung Hero Awards.
Dinner buffets will open at 5 p.m. and will be held near the JMA Dome’s west end zone. Guests can enter the “Courtside Lounge and Suites” entrance located between Gates A and B. Halal, Kosher, gluten-free and vegetarian options will be available. This year all guests will remain at the tables for the program.
Ticket purchase options are as follows:
All tickets will be assigned a table number at the time of purchase, which will be included in the mobile tickets. Guests interested in sitting with friends are recommended to purchase tickets together to ensure the same table assignment.
Guests may order up to eight dinner and program tickets online. To purchase one full table (eight seats), select eight total tickets and proceed to checkout. To purchase more than one table or more than eight individual tickets, or if experiencing difficulties, please call the JMA Dome Box Office at 1.888.DOME.TIX (315.443.2121), option four.
Buy tickets online at mlk.syr.edu, in person at the Dome Box Office inside Gate B at 900 Irving Ave. (Monday through Friday 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.) or by phone (888.DOME.TIX or 315.443.2121, option four). Tickets will be mobile this year and uploaded directly to your MyCuse account to manage upon purchase. View the step-by-step guide on mobile ticketing for more information.
Free parking is available in the Irving Avenue Garage, the Raynor Lot, Henry Lot and the Standart Lot. American Sign Language (ASL) interpretation, AIRA and Communication Access Realtime Translation (CART) will be available for the event.
For more information about the MLK Celebration or to request accommodations, contact Hendricks Chapel at chapel@syr.edu or 315.443.2901. Learn more about this and other Hendricks Chapel events by visiting chapel.syracuse.edu.
