TUSCALOOSA, Ala. -- Dr. Gary Orfield, professor of education and social policy at Harvard University, will speak Thursday, Feb. 19, at 7 p.m. in Morgan Auditorium on The University of Alabama campus.

The event is part of the Martin Luther King Jr. Distinguished Lecture Series hosted jointly by UA, Shelton State Community College and Stillman College. Orfield, the co-director of the Civil Rights Project at Harvard, will also make a class presentation at 1:30 p.m. in Stinson Auditorium at Stillman College. Both appearances are free and open to the public.

Orfield's central interest has been the development and implementation of social policy, with a central focus on the impact of policy on equal opportunity for success in the American society. School desegregation and other civil rights issues have also been important matters for the award-winning instructor.

The rights of African-Americans, Latinos, and American Indians have frequently been objects of his research and his involvement in the policy processes. Orfield’s work in policy making has had a strong focus on governmental institutions and processes, reflecting his political science background. Much of his work deals with public educational institutions, both public schools and colleges.

He has been honored with the Woodrow Wilson, Danforth, Falk and Brookings Institution Fellowships and a Senior Scholar Fellowship from the Spencer Foundation. He received the American Political Science Association's Charles Merriam Award given to a scholar “whose published work and career represents a significant contribution to the art of government through the application of social science research.” Orfield was also the recipient of the Gustavus Myers award for an outstanding book on race relations.