For Immediate Release February 10, 2006

For More Information Contact: Diane Brown, 317-274-7711 habrown@iupui.edu

IUPUI Wins 2006 Mayor’s Diversity Award

INDIANAPOLIS – IUPUI is one of six local businesses and organizations recently named the recipient of the annual Mayor's Celebration of Diversity Award. More than 1,000 people attended a downtown luncheon held January 25 to honor the winners.

The Mayor's Celebration of Diversity Award program, now in its fifth year, recognizes business and organizations that “embrace, celebrate and apply holistic inclusion and participation of a diverse people.” Winners were selected for their contributions in one or all of four categories: workforce diversity; development of diversity education and communication; community relations; and leadership in diversity.

IUPUI was recognized for stellar performance in the development category which honors an organization with opportunities for diversity education and communication within that organization.

“Our achievement of this award was made possible because of our fierce commitment to our vision for diversity and to the hard work of each of us as we work every day and every way to make our vision real,” said Karen Whitney, vice chancellor for Student Life and Diversity. “This award is a call to keep going to make the vision real.”

Activities, services, programs and events highlighted in the papers nominating IUPUI included the Diversity Performance Indicators, diversity training programs sponsored by Human Resources Administration, career development opportunities sponsored by the Office for Professional Development, the IUPUI Adaptive Technology centers, the annual Joseph Taylor Symposium and the University Conference on Diversity at IUPUI.

“These awards recognize the visionary leaders in our business and not for profit community, who have committed to growing and celebrating our community's rich racial, ethnic and religious heritage,” Mayor Peterson said, in a press release announcing the winners. “We hope they serve as an example to all our fellow citizens of the importance of including all people in the business of Indianapolis .”

IUPUI was also one of the six winners of the inaugural Mayor's diversity awards presented in 2002. The campus was selected as a winner in the leadership category that year.

Thirty organizations were nominated for the 2006 Mayor's Celebration of Diversity Award. A nomination committee interviewed the nominees and conducted on-site meetings with them.

The top diversity award, given to recognize the business organization with the strongest performance in all four categories, went to Veolia Water.

The other winners and their respective categories were: FedEx, workforce diversity; Bosma Industries, development; WISH-TV Channel 8, community relations; and Roche Diagnostic, leadership in diversity.

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