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Three Stamps Community Members Receive the 2023 MLK Spirit Award

January 20, 2023
A group of 9 Stamps community members and award recipients pose with two crystal plaques.

A faculty member, an administrator, and a student from the Penny W. Stamps School of Art & Design were honored at the 2023 North Campus Deans’ Martin Luther King Spirit Awards.

Deepa Butoliya, Srimoyee Mitra, and Julia Flatley were the recipients of the prestigious annual awards for their significant contributions to upholding the legacy of Dr. King. Stamps Dean Carlos Francisco Jackson was on hand to congratulate the award recipients and nominees. 

Deepa Butoliya stands next to a presenter at a podium on stage and holds a crystal plaque.
Deepa Butoliya accepts her award at the 2023 North Campus Deans’ Martin Luther King Spirit Awards.

In nominating her fellow faculty member Deepa Butoliya for her community-based endeavors, Professor Jane Prophet wrote:

“Deepa’s work is grounded in working with local communities, especially Detroit-based organizations such as Afrofuture Youth Detroit and Detroit Justice Centre, Feedom Freedom Growers Urban Farm and Bogg’s Centre. Her research is based on understanding the design and doing practices coming from marginalized communities, and she has recently expanded this inquiry by investigating these practices from Detroit. This has helped her further the Stamps School’s DEI goals by researching the often ignored design knowledge coming from people of color.” 

Throughout her time as the Penny W. Stamps Gallery director, Srimoyee Mitra has fostered events, activities, and exhibitions that highlight her commitment to intersectional racial justice in her curatorial work. Most recently, Srimoyee created a partnership with the Broad Museum and the Flint Institute of Arts to feature the photographer LaToya Ruby Frazier’s compelling exhibition on the Flint Water Crisis entitled Flint is Family in Three Acts.

First-year Stamps student Julia Flatley was honored as part of a student organization that addressed women’s human rights violations and focused on the story of Iranian woman Mahsa Amini. Iran’s morality police arrested Amini for ​“improperly” wearing her hijab, and according to her family and local media, she was severely beaten and later died from her injuries.

Srimoyee Mitra stands next to a presenter at a podium on stage and holds a crystal plaque.
Srimoyee Mitra accepts her award at the 2023 North Campus Deans’ Martin Luther King Spirit Awards.

In addition to these outstanding award recipients, other members of the Stamps Community were nominated for their ongoing contributions and dedications to the ideals of Dr. King’s legacy:

  • Mark Chung Kwan Fan, Director of Student Life

  • John Luther, Career Development Coordinator

  • Jules XX, Recruiting & Admissions Manager

  • Grace Benjamin, Student

The North Campus Deans’ MLK Spirit Awards are given to students, student organizations, staff, and faculty in North Campus schools and colleges at the University of Michigan who exemplify the leadership and vision of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. through their commitment to social justice, diversity, equity, and inclusion, including within the context of the pandemic and our reignited sense of urgency to address root causes of social injustice.

The annual awards are hosted by the A. Alfred Taubman College of Architecture + Urban Planning; College of Engineering; Penny W. Stamps School of Art & Design; and School of Music, Theatre & Dance, in collaboration with ArtsEngine and the Duderstadt Center as part of U‑M’s MLK Symposium to honor and commemorate the life and legacy of Dr. King.