Desmond Tutu Public Health Lecture Series

Inaugural Lecture a Credit to AIC and MKI

"I am truly honored that American International College has partnered with the Medical Knowledge Institute and that they have created the Public Health Awareness Lecture Series in my name. I hope and pray that this relationship and the Public Health Awareness activities will lead to some amazing things."
– Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu, April 2010

Welcoming Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu to Springfield, Massachusetts and to the American International College campus was a tremendous honor and pleasure for the entire community. Students from area high schools and colleges attended a special speech that also drew college staff and other adults. A lecture open to the general public took place later that day at Springfield's Symphony Hall, where Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu was also granted an honorary doctorate during a formal convocation.

The Archbishop's visit kicked off an ongoing series of visiting speakers who will talk about healthcare issues relevant to the local community and the world at large. The Desmond Tutu Public Health Awareness series will continue as a partnership between American International College and the Medical Knowledge Institute, which also recently opened offices in Springfield.

The Medical Knowledge Institute works on the premise that healthcare is a human right. American International College is founded on the belief that education transforms lives. AIC and MKI are linked by the assertion that education empowers people to improve their lives and their efforts to deliver relevant knowledge to diverse populations.

In a Commencement address to AIC's students, MKI founder, Dr. Harold Robles, offered the following perspective: "Only a healthy person can work, support his family, and pay taxes, and thus become the foundation of an economically healthy country," adding that "The power in the relationship between MKI and AIC is to create a platform of students and faculty who are willing and ready to serve humanity, ready to make a difference, ready to show leadership."

As this special series continues, it is the hope of American International College and the Medical Knowledge Institute that more AIC students will become increasingly involved in public health awareness and improvement locally and across the globe.