The University of Iowa is preparing to celebrate Martin Luther King, Jr. and our unity in diversity, equity, and inclusion as we kick off the Spring semester on January 17th, 2022.

The 2022 MLK Celebration of Human Rights and our campus's Unity Week celebrate both Martin Luther King, Jr.'s life and legacy while shining a light on our ongoing work to grow an inclusive campus experience for our students, faculty, and staff.

Recognition of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s birthdate has been a tradition at the University of Iowa since 1969. The national holiday has been observed through human rights programs since its inception in 1986.

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 engaging faculty, staff, students, and community members to give lectures, discussions, and cultural arts presentations. All events are free and open to the public.

Unity Week celebrates the University of Iowa's continued growth to become a more inclusive campus experience. 

During the week of January 17-21, 2022, our campus, colleges, and units will tell the stories celebrating Martin Luther King. Jr., our people, achievements, programs, resources, and unity.

The 2022 Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration of Human Rights is a collaborative effort between the University of Iowa Division of Student Life and Division of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, the City of Iowa City, and several community organizations.  

Unity Week is a campus-wide effort of each college and unit celebrating our stories of diversity, equity, and inclusion over the past year. We will aggregate articles and social media posts on diversity.uiowa.edu and each college/units' webpages and social media channels throughout the week.