Indiana University 2025 Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration
In honor of the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Indiana University will host the traditional “MLK Leadership Breakfast” on Monday, January 20, 2025, from 9:30 - 11:30 a.m., at the Indiana Memorial Union, Alumni Hall, Bloomington, Indiana. Enjoy a morning breakfast of fellowship with IU and community colleagues and friends before beginning a day of service. The program will include music, a special keynote address by Rev. Leah Gunning Francis, Ph.D., Indiana University Health senior vice president and chief mission and values officer, the presentation of IU’s Building Bridges Awards, and more.
Rev. Leah Gunning Francis will deliver the 2025 MLK Leadership Breakfast keynote address. Gunning Francis is the senior vice president and chief mission and values officer for IU Health, where she provides direction to ensure engagement in ethical practice, quality spiritual and pastoral care, and effective philanthropy within the organization and the communities where IU Health is active. She joined IU Health in 2023 from the Christian Theological Seminary in Indianapolis, where she was vice president for academic affairs and dean of the faculty since 2016. Before that, Gunning Francis served on the faculty at Eden Seminary in St. Louis. She also has served in pastoral positions for congregations in Georgia, Illinois, and Ohio. She earned a doctorate of philosophy from Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary, a master of divinity from the Candler School of Theology at Emory University, and a bachelor’s in marketing from Hampton University. In 2021, Rev. Gunning Francis was awarded an honorary degree of doctor of divinity by Franklin College.