Felician University Announces 2019 Annual MLK Jr. Legacy Award

Rutherford and Lodi, NJ – January 2019– Felician University announced today that New Jersey Lieutenant Governor Sheila Oliver has been awarded the 2019 Martin Luther King, Jr. Legacy Award.

Lt. Governor Oliver took the oath of office as New Jersey’s 2ndLieutenant Governor in January 2018. She has chaired the New Jersey Assembly Human Services Committee and served as Development Director for the New Jersey Literacy Campaign. Ms. Oliver was one of the founders of the Newark Coalition for Low Income Housing and has also served on the boards of non-profit organizations such as the Global Women’s Leadership Collaborative of NJ and the Programs for Parents. She is the first woman of color to serve in a statewide elected office in New Jersey history.

“We are so proud to name Lt. Governor Sheila Oliver as the 2019 recipient of our Martin Luther King, Jr. Legacy Award,” said Felician University President Dr. Anne Prisco. “The Lt. Governor’s commitment to fighting for educational and economic opportunities for all of New Jersey’s residents makes her an ideal choice for Felician’s Martin Luther King, Jr. Legacy Award.”

The Martin Luther King, Jr. Legacy Award was developed by Felician to honor Dr. King and recognize individuals who help to fulfill the Felician’s mission and vision of equality and justice. Past Legacy Award recipients include Senator Cory Booker, Joetta Clark-Diggs and Carla Harris.

In selecting Lt. Governor Sheila Oliver for this year’s award, Felician employed the following criteria:

• An individual whose life’s work reflects and promotes the University’s core values – especially passion for issues related to social justice, civil rights and economic equality
• A personal mission in life that also embodies the mission and values of the University’s Felician/Franciscan heritage – compassion, justice and peace, and finding goodness in all creation
• A person who compels all people to give the gift of hope

Martin Luther King Jr once said, ‘The time is always right to do what is right.’ We applaud Lieutenant Governor Sheila Oliver for an exceptional life of helping to improve the world’s condition. As a champion of equality, justice and compassion, “she truly embodies the legacy of Dr. King,” Dr. Prisco said.

About Felician University

Felician University, with campuses in Rutherford and Lodi, NJ, is a Catholic Franciscan University, founded in 1942 and sponsored by the Felician Sisters. Felician offers’ Bachelors, Masters and Doctoral programs in the Arts and Sciences, Business, Education and Nursing. Felician has been ranked as the #3 Private University in New Jersey for Return on Investment (ROI) by payscale.com and reported 100% of its 2017 graduates surveyed are either employed or in graduate school within 6 months of graduation.