This document was written by Robert E. Markarian, the director of teacher education at Springfield College from 1953 to 1977. Markarian describes his visit with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on the day of the June 16, 1964 Commencement Ceremony. He discusses the honor of escorting and introducing Martin Luther King Jr. to Springfield College. The day did not start off as planned when the plane did not arrive on time and since MLK Jr. had recently spent the last five days in jail because of civil disobedience. The Commencement speech did take place, and Markarian described it to be full of clarity and a great message about contemporary conditions. The document was said to have been written some time between 2000 and 2010.
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Robert Markarian graduated from Lafayette College with a Bachelor's degree in 1935 and then continued his education and graduated from Harvard Graduate School of Education in 1948. Springfield College then hired Markarian as the Assistant Professor of Education beginning in the 1948-49 school year. He was promoted to Associate Professor of Education in 1951, and in 1953, he became the director of teacher education at Springfield College where he worked until he retired in 1977.
