Author, CEO of consulting firm will highlight MLK Day celebration

The founder of a multimillion dollar information technology consulting firm will highlight Martin Luther King Jr. Day celebrations at Grand Valley State University.

Randal D. Pinkett, founder, chair and CEO of BCT Partners in New Jersey, will give the keynote address on Monday, January 18, at the Fieldhouse Arena. The author of "Campus CEO: The Student Entrepreneur's Guide to Launching a Multimillion Dollar Business," Pinkett's address centers on "Wealth to Revitalize."

His speech will start at 2:15 p.m., following a campus-wide silent march that will begin at Zumberge Library at 1:45 p.m. Grand Valley's gospel choir Voices of GVSU will also perform.

Pinkett holds five degrees and is the only African American to be named a Rhodes Scholar at Rutgers University. He also earned a master's degree in computer science from the University of Oxford, and a master's degree in electrical engineering, an MBA and doctoral degree, all from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

A versatile person, Pinkett is a past winner of NBC's reality TV show "The Apprentice with Donald Trump." He has received numerous awards, including the Entrepreneur of the Year Award from the National Society of Black Engineers and the National Urban League Business Excellence Award. Pinkett has appeared regularly on national TV talk shows and is a spokesperson for several companies.

He also wrote "No Money Down CEO: How to Start Your Dream Business"; a book he co-wrote, "Black Faces in White Places," will be released this year.

Pinkett will also be the keynote speaker at the 24th MLK Celebration Program, which begins at 6:30 p.m. in the Ford Fieldhouse on the campus of Grand Rapids Community College.