Bernice King, Daughter of MLK, Brings Message of Peace to Campus

Bernice King, CEO of The King Center, the official memorial to the life, work, and legacy of her father, Martin Luther King Jr., was the featured speaker for a moderated discussion titled “Building the Beloved Community” last October. The event was cosponsored by Monmouth’s Social Justice Academy and Intercultural Center and was part of the Academy’s Combating Racial Injustice through Education Professional Development Series.

The “beloved community” is a term popularized by her father and her mother, Coretta Scott King, and refers to “a love-centered community where the humanity of everyone is honored and respected … [and where] every individual is able to thrive and live out their purpose in this life,” Bernice King said. “There’s a commitment inside the beloved community to work to rid it of injustices, in particular my father’s triple evils of racism, militarism, and poverty.”

“Some people feel like the beloved community is a utopia … something that we cannot achieve because of our diversity and differences,” Bernice King said. “Nothing could be further from the truth.” Conflict will always be present in society, she explained. But by committing to “resolving that conflict in a peaceful manner in a manner that’s consistent with the teachings of nonviolence,” individuals can build a more just and equitable society.

“My father on numerous occasions said, ‘The aftermath of nonviolence is the creation of the beloved community,’” King said. During her opening remarks, King referenced her father’s visit to Monmouth 56 years ago. During his speech “The Future of Integration,” the late King remarked, “We have come a long, long way; but … we must honestly face the fact that we still have a long, long way to go before the problem of racial injustice is solved.”

“What daddy said back then is very true today,” King said last fall. “We’ve made some tremendous progress, but if we’re not careful, we can revert back to those times. And we see things occurring now from a judicial standpoint that are very concerning.”

Top photo, from left: Assistant Professor Vernon Smith, Bernice King, and Associate Professor Nicole Pulliam. Photo by Anthony DePrimo.

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In a Class of Their Own

Last fall’s incoming first-year class had an average GPA of 3.61—the highest average of any incoming Monmouth class.

The class* also had the highest average SAT score in the University’s history: 1211.

Additionally, more than 30% of the students came from outside New Jersey, representing 19 U.S. states and 11 foreign countries.

This marks the greatest geographic diversity in Monmouth’s history.

*Students whose admission evaluation included standardized tests.

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Overheard on Campus

“We’re in the position of being early adopters for having a written constitution. I liken it to having an iPhone 3G. … We’re the first in the neighborhood to have it, and it’s still the best. The design is elegant, and it works well. … [But] we may be losing out on some functionality that other societies may have acquired, and in these last few years, I’m afraid that the original company may not be supporting the repairs … and warranties on the thing anymore.”

—Associate Professor of History Christopher DeRosa, during a wide-ranging panel discussion titled Historical and Contemporary Perspectives on the Constitution

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The Monmouth Brag Board

Still Soaring

Monmouth retained its highest-ever ranking (No. 18) on U.S. News & World Report’s 2022–2023 “Best Colleges” list in the Regional Universities North category and is also featured in the publication’s Best Colleges for Veterans, Best Value Schools, and Top Performers on Social Mobility lists.

Rock On!

Billboard named Monmouth one of its Top Music Business Schools for 2022, praising the University’s role as the home of the Bruce Springsteen Archives and Center for American Music as well as the “hybrid model that combines classic business coursework from the University’s business school with its music and music business curriculum.”

Serving the Greater Good

Washington Monthly, which ranks colleges and universities based on “what they do for our country,” named Monmouth to its 2022 College Rankings: Master’s University list and 2022 Best Bang for the Buck Colleges: Northeast list.

Pardon Our Humblebrag

The magazine won a gold Circle of Excellence Award from the Council for Advancement and Support of Education for the series of illustrations that accompanied our Fall 2020 cover story, “The Long Struggle.”