Concordia University, St. Paul Executive Vice President and Dean of Diversity Dr. Cheryl Chatman was honored by the Council of Black Minnesotans with the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day Statewide Celebration Jan. 16, for her dedication and service to helping spread Dr. King’s message in the community.

The annual event, organized by the Governor’s Commission on the Statewide Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday Celebration, includes a rally at Central High School and a march to Concordia where a program and education fair is held in the Gangelhoff Center.

“I feel honored to receive this award among other advocates of justice and peace,” Chatman said. “I plan to use this honor as a reminder of the examples, sacrifices and paths that the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King and other humanitarians and civil rights advocates have set before me and others, which is to be an instrument in helping bring King’s dreams to reality, and more importantly to spread God’s love, mercy and justice to all of God’s people.”

Dr. Chatman has been an appointed member of the Governor’s Commission for ten years.