To honor the memory and work of Martin Luther King Jr., awards are presented each year to faculty and staff members who best demonstrate the spirit of volunteerism and citizenship that characterized King's life.

Recipients of the awards, chosen from the university and hospital communities, are evaluated by panels of faculty and staff at their institutions and then recommended to the members of the Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration Committee. This year's winners will be recognized for their 1997 achievements at the Jan. 14 event (see below), where they will be presented with marbleized pyramids. They also will receive a day off and be honored with a $200 donation to a charity of their choice.

The Community Service Award Recipients

David M. Levine
Associate Chair, Medicine, School of Medicine
David Levine has worked tirelessly to improve the health of East and West Baltimore while building bridges between Hopkins and its neighbors. His efforts include developing new programs and community-based interventions to improve access and use of health services. In collaboration with colleagues and community leaders, Levine has successfully obtained grant support to enhance health care and public health in East Baltimore. Currently, he is heading a program in the Sandtown-Winchester area to improve control of high blood pressure, decrease smoking and excess alcohol intake, improve dietary patterns and decrease the prevalence of cardiovascular disease. He has helped create church-based and -sponsored community health centers, programs for the elderly and People United for Living in a Safe Environment.

Douglas J. MacIver
Associate Director, Center for Social Organization of Schools, School of Arts and Sciences
Douglas MacIver is the dominant figure behind founding and developing the Baltimore Christian School. Thanks to his involvement in this volunteer-driven, interdenominational elementary school, minority children of the Pen Lucy neighborhood receive an excellent academic education regardless of their family's financial status. As school board president, MacIver chairs board meetings, oversees curriculum decisions, spearheads fund raising and development, hires staff, is liaison between parents and the school, and oversees decisions vital to the daily operations.

J. Courtland Robinson
Associate Professor, School of Medicine
J. Courtland Robinson has been a community and international health advocate since the 1960s. He is both a direct-care provider and a spokesperson against racism; for the rights of women and children, gays and lesbians; and for fair housing. He supports securing national health insurance for all Americans, assuring family-planning options for underinsured community members and reducing domestic violence. Robinson helped set up the Rape Crisis Center and has treated and testified on behalf of numerous victims of sexual assault. In association with Physicians for Social Responsibility, he opposes domestic and international violence. He has tirelessly lobbied church and state, at both the state and national levels, for funding to provide adequate and appropriate services to women and their children.

Maxine O. Johnson
Clerical Associate, The Johns Hopkins Hospital
A volunteer at the House of Ruth, Maxine Johnson counsels women both at the shelter and over the telephone. Many women seeking assistance have been victims of verbal, sexual and physical abuse, and Johnson's work helps them in a particularly traumatic time in their lives. By supporting and encouraging these women, Johnson helps to ensure their safety and that of their children.

George R. Kim
Instructor in Pediatrics, Bayview Medical Center
Since 1989 George Kim has served breakfast weekly at Our Daily Bread, a facility that provides for the poor and homeless in Baltimore. He also serves on the board of directors of At Jacob's Well, a voluntary mental health organization that treats the poor and homeless.

Ernest A. Truax
Central Services Educator, The Johns Hopkins Hospital
Ernie Truax began as a volunteer firefighter in 1965 and now devotes 30 hours a week to this work. In his 32 years of service, he has completed training through the University of Maryland Fire & Rescue Institute and has obtained Firefighter III and Rescue Technician certifications through the National Certification Institute. Truax has served as vice president of the Washington County (Md.) Fire & Rescue Association and has held the ranks of lieutenant, captain and assistant chief; he is currently chief of the Hancock Volunteer Fire Company in Washington County.