Named by U.S. News & World Report as one of America's Best Leaders of 2009, Eboo Patel, founder and executive director of the Interfaith Youth Core (IFYC), a Chicago-based institution building the global youth movement, will present Cornell's Martin Luther King Jr. Commemorative Lecture in Sage Chapel, Feb. 21 at 7 p.m.

"Dr. Patel exemplifies an aspect of Dr. King's vision for American society and the world, particularly expressed his final book, 'Where Do We Go From Here: Chaos or Community?,' the reading for Ithaca's MLK Community Build -- through his commitment to promote multifaith pluralism and cooperation," says Rev. Kenneth Clarke, director of Cornell United Religious Work.

Patel is the author of the award-winning book "Acts of Faith: The Story of an American Muslim, the Struggle for the Soul of a Generation." He is also a regular contributor to the Washington Post, National Public Radio, USA Today and CNN. He served on President Barack Obama's Advisory Council of the White House Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships and holds a doctorate in the sociology of religion from Oxford University, where he studied on a Rhodes scholarship.

Patel has also spoken at the TED Conference, the Clinton Global Initiative, the Nobel Peace Prize Forum and universities around the world. Patel was named a "Young Global Leader" in 2009 by the World Economic Forum and an Ashoka fellow, a group of social entrepreneurs chosen for their that can change the world. He was chosen by Islamica Magazine as one of 10 young Muslim visionaries shaping Islam in America and by Harvard's Kennedy School Review as one of five future policy leaders to watch; and along with IFYC, was honored with the Roosevelt Institute's Freedom of Worship Medal in 2009.