Press Releases January 7, 2025

Bowie State University’s Martin Luther King, Jr. Center Empowers Voices of Change

The new communication arts and humanities building equips students with “the courage to face the uncertainties of the future.”

BOWIE, MD―Bowie State University (BSU) has opened the Martin Luther King, Jr. Center, designed by global architecture and design firm Perkins&Will. The new building equips Maryland’s oldest HBCU with learning environments and courses of study that provide arts and humanities students with a technologically advanced 21st-century learning experience. The design and programming of the Center is a testament to the power of voice, encouraging student self-expression and fostering a collaborative environment for learning and creativity.

The Martin Luther King, Jr. Center’s design process was deeply influenced by the realities of the present moment, with a vision rooted in honoring Black students and leaders while equipping them with the tools and confidence to effect change. Closely following George Floyd’s murder in 2020, the university and design teams met for a visioning session that raised questions of identity and justice, drawing inspiration from Dr. King’s timeless call to “have the courage to face the uncertainties of the future.”

“From its façade, inspired by the vocal inflections of Dr. King’s Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech, to its cutting-edge performance and learning facilities, this building is poised to become a transformative space for students and the campus community,” says BSU President Aminta H. Breaux.

Specialty learning environments such as recording studios provide students an opportunity to learn using industry-leading technology.

Environments that Empower

At the heart of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Center lies a commitment to empowering students to find their voices and pursue their passions. Serving as both an academic hub and a campus gateway, the facility offers specialized learning environments across diverse fields of study, including history, language, literature, communications, performing arts, and media studies.

“We considered what would best serve students, faculty, and staff across the full range of disciplines represented in the building and created specialty spaces for each of them to soar,” says Renee Rodriguez, project manager at Perkins&Will. Specialty learning environments include recording studios, professional radio and TV broadcast studios, video editing rooms, a GIS lab, a resource library, tech-equipped multi-media classrooms, a flexible auditorium and event space, an outdoor amphitheater, and more.

Every student receiving a BSU education will pass through this building at some point in their curriculum. The skills they learn here will give them the self-confidence and practical tools to navigate real-world challenges in future career paths.

Aminta H. Breaux, Bowie State University President

Designing for Impact

With a focus on visibility, connectivity, and storytelling, the Martin Luther King, Jr. Center is an inclusive, welcoming space. An iconic vocal waveform façade on the auditorium, its design inspired by the sound wave pattern of Dr. King’s Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech from 1964, is strategically placed as a gateway between the Bowie train station and the campus. Glass façades on the north and south faces of the building convey openness. The South entrance welcomes students and visitors, providing a reception space—or “Inflection”—to connect before and after events in the auditorium.

“The Martin Luther King, Jr. Center is more than just a physical structure,” says Katie Janson, a senior branded environments designer at Perkins&Will. “Artwork and graphic elements throughout the communal areas are designed to inspire, celebrating the power of ideas and using one’s voice to create change.”

The Historical Legacy Corridor, a connecting hallway on the ground floor, features mixed-media artwork highlighting the skills essential to succeed in academic life: Exploring Culture, Thinking Critically, Organizing Change, Speaking Publicly, Reading to Connect, and Analyzing Mindfully. Each panel uniquely pairs an academic skill with notable events in African American and campus history to create a non-linear heritage timeline intended to spark new ways of thinking, depicted through photography, written word, color, and graphic elements.

Furnishings in the Community Inflection create places to gather but are designed to be removed to accommodate events and receptions for performances in the adjacent auditorium.

Bowie State’s 160-year history of empowering change is reflected in the Historical Legacy Corridor. Each panel pairs academic skills with notable events, showcasing the heritage of the university.

Honoring lives of service and inspiring change

In a poignant tribute to service and sacrifice, the north “Inflection” space of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Center features a memorial to Lt. Richard Collins III, a Reserve Officer Training Corp (ROTC) candidate at BSU whose life was tragically cut short in a hate crime. Etched into felt panels, Lt. Collins’ image stands as a lasting reminder of the importance of unity, resilience, and remembrance in the face of adversity. An inscription nearby encourages students to “Serve with honor. Live with purpose.”

The ROTC was established at Bowie State University in September of 1974, through a cross-enrollment agreement with Howard University. Today, the program is located within the Martin Luther King, Jr. Center and averages 85-95 Cadets each semester from BSU and partner institutions, who receive hands-on leadership training and management skills.

An additional tribute wall in the South Entrance atrium honors the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr, whose influence is felt throughout space. A vibrant mural titled “Conversation,” by Victor Ekpuk, a well-known Washington, D.C. artist, will hang above the auditorium entrance. The artwork celebrates Bowie State University’s history as a diverse institution and Dr. King’s ideals of empowerment, justice, equity, love, and community.

Bowie State University’s Martin Luther King, Jr. Center Empowers Voices of Change

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