University of Texas Arlington

ARLINGTON - Dr. Maxwell C. Scarlett, the first African-American to graduate from UT Arlington, will be the keynote speaker at the Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration "Sharing the Dream" Awards Banquet at 6:30 p.m. Friday, Jan. 15, at the E.H. Hereford University Center's Bluebonnet, 300 W. First St.

Maxwell Scarlett

Dr. Scarlett (B.S. '66) is a physician in Lampasas and president and chief executive officer of Lekar Emergency Medical Associates in Killeen.

The Fort Worth native graduated from Dunbar High School began college at North Texas State College in Denton, from which his mother graduated, and took summer classes at what was then Arlington State College. He transferred to Arlington in mid-1965. The college had integrated three years earlier.

Dr. Scarlett was not the only African-American student at the college, but he was the first to earn a degree, his bachelor's degree in biology. Dr. Scarlett later earned his medical degree from Howard University in Washington, D.C.

In 2009, he and his wife, Vivian, established UT Arlington first endowed professorship in biology. Dr. Scarlett has received several honors at UT Arlington, including Outstanding African-American Alumni Award, the Multicultural Services Trailblazer Award, and Distinguished Alumnus Award.

Community awards and scholarship presentations are part of the evening, also.

Tickets for the banquet are $35 and can be purchased at www.utatickets.com. Complimentary valet will be provided by Delta Sigma Theta sorority.

Saturday's "An Evening of Spoken Word Slam Poetry" is for adults age 18 and older. The poetry slam starts at 7:30 p.m. in the Bluebonnet Ballroom. Tickets are $15 and available through www.utatickets.com.

Other MLK Celebration events continue through Monday, Jan. 18. Check the schedule at www.ci.arlington.tx.us/MLK/ or call the MLK Event Hotline at 817-459-6430 or 817-459-6404.

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The University of Texas at Arlington is an Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action employer.