INDIANA UNIVERSITY PURDUE UNIVERSITY INDIANAPOLIS

COMMUNICATIONS & MARKETING Administration Building, Suite 136 355 N. Lansing Street Indianapolis, Indiana 46202-2896 317-274-7711 Fax: 317-274-5457

For Immediate Release May 10, 2000 For More Information Contact: Rich Schneider, (317) 274-7711 rcschnei@iupui.edu

STUDENTS GRADUATE AT IUPUI ON MOTHER'S DAY

Thousands of mothers will receive a special treat on Mother's Day: watching their sons and daughters celebrate completion of years of work for an Indiana University or Purdue University degree as they graduate at IUPUI.

Commencement exercises begin at 3 p.m. Sunday, May 14 in the RCA Dome, preceded by a parade of students to their seats.

Indiana University and Purdue University will confer some 4,357 undergraduate and graduate degrees to students. Degree recipients include graduates from semesters ending in December 1999, May 2000 and August 2000. Also included are graduate students whose degrees were awarded on a monthly basis during the 1999-2000 academic year.

Purdue President Steven C. Beering will deliver the commencement address to students. IUPUI Chancellor Gerald Bepko will preside at the commencement and IU President Myles Brand will confer degrees. Indianapolis Mayor Bart Peterson will convey greetings from the city to students and parents.

To put the number of students receiving degrees at IUPUI in perspective, consider this: more students at IUPUI will have degrees conferred to them than at six other IU (Fort Wayne, South Bend, Kokomo, New Albany, Gary, and Richmond) campuses combined.

Conferral of degrees at IUPUI underscores the fact that IUPUI has been a focal point of IU's efforts to support economic growth by preparing people for the workforce. IUPUI has the largest enrollment of Indiana residents of any campus in the state.

Four individuals will receive honorary degrees. Honorary degree recipients are:

Walter S. Blackburn, president of Blackburn Architects, will receive an honorary degree of Doctor of Letters from Purdue University. A prominent Indianapolis business and civic leader, Blackburn has combined sensitivity, social consciousness, special training and professionalism to preserving neighborhoods, rebuilding the inner city, and creating beauty. Throughout his professional career, Blackburn has maintained an active affiliation with institutions of higher education. The recently opened Herron School of Art Sculpture and Ceramics facility at 1350 N. Stadium Drive in Indianapolis was designed by his firm.

Mari Evans, an Indianapolis-based poet, playwright, educator, essayist, and producer, will receive an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from IU. In a career spanning more than 40 years, her artistic vision has guided the discourse of her community and the nation, while her teaching has awakened college students to the liberating possibilities of self-expression. During her career, she has combined artistic production with academic teaching. Her first full-time position was at IUPUI, as instructor in African American literature and writer-in-residence during the 1969-70 academic year. She served as an assistant professor at both IU Bloomington and Purdue, and concluded her academic career as distinguished writer and associate professor at Cornell University's Africana Studies and Research Center.

Robert Payton, founding director of the Indiana University Center on Philanthropy at IUPUI, will receive an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree from IU. Through his writings, speeches, teaching, and above all his leadership at the Center, Payton has enlightened and inspired thousands of people in the field of philanthropy, including leaders, scholars, students, and practitioners. Largely because of Payton's assistance, the IUPUI University Library houses one of the world's finest library and archival collections of material related to philanthropy. With his own funds, Payton provided space for the Joseph and Matthew Payton Philanthropic Studies Library and Archives at IUPUI, named in memory of two of his sons.

Amara Raksasataya, who has worked throughout his life to improve public administration and governance in his native Thailand, will receive an honorary Doctor of Laws degree from IU. An alumnus and devoted supporter of IU, Raksasataya has served as an academic, as advisor to Thailand's prime minister, as a senator, as chairman of the Public Opinion Committee, and as president of the Constitution Association for the People. Raksasataya was a key advisor in the formation of the university's Center on Southeast Asia at IUPUI. He has been an important advisor to IU presidents John Ryan, Thomas Ehrlich, and Myles Brand. In 1993, he was awarded the John Ryan Award for Excellence in International Endeavors.

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