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<p>Donors, volunteers receive one of IUPUI&#8217;s most prestigious philanthropy awards.</p>

Donors, volunteers receive one of IUPUI’s most prestigious philanthropy awards

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

INDIANAPOLIS — The Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis Spirit of Philanthropy Award, one of the most prestigious philanthropy awards given by the campus, was bestowed upon numerous individuals and organizations April 9 at this year’s Spirit of Philanthropy luncheon and ceremony sponsored by IUPUI, the IU Foundation and the IU Lilly Family School of Philanthropy at IUPUI.  

For a quarter of a century, the Spirit of Philanthropy Award has recognized those who have had a profound impact on IUPUI’s growth and development through their gifts and voluntary service.

“We depend upon corporations, foundations and individuals who share with us their time, treasure and ideas. Their gift is the spirit of philanthropy, and their partnership makes possible the success of IUPUI,” IUPUI Chancellor Charles R. Bantz said.

Schools and units on the IUPUI campus are invited to select corporations, foundations and individuals as award recipients. Those honored at the 2014 IUPUI Spirit of Philanthropy luncheon, and the respective unit bestowing each award, were:

Mary Friend, IUPUI Center for Service and Learning

Mary Friend, a volunteer resource manager for the Ronald McDonald House of Indiana and an IUPUI alumna, was honored in recognition of her sustained commitment in helping support the campus mission and fostering the civic growth and development of IUPUI students. Through the partnership between the Ronald McDonald House and IUPUI, Friend has hosted hundreds of students as volunteers at Ronald McDonald House and has also been a mentor and supervisor to numerous Sam H. Jones Community Service Scholars, whom she has helped become civic-minded catalysts for change in their communities.

The Excel Center at Goodwill Industries, IUPUI Community Learning Network/Center for Adult and Lifelong Learning

Goodwill Industries’ Excel Center is a free, public charter school in multiple Indiana locations; its mission is to provide adult students with high school diplomas, human service support and career preparation. Since April 2012, the Excel Center has offered students the opportunity to become licensed pharmacy technicians through IUPUI’s Community Learning Network, which has supported more than 180 adults earning their pharmacy technician licenses while working toward their high school diplomas.

Barnes & Noble at IUPUI, IUPUI Division of Student Affairs

Barnes & Noble has partnered with the division to sponsor New Student Welcome, Weeks of Welcome, Homecoming, Jagapalooza, the Campus Center Open House and the Off-Campus Housing Fair, along with countless giveaways and discounts for students and student organization events throughout the year. In addition, Barnes & Noble has provided leadership and financial support for two new initiatives during the 2013–14 year: the Jag Spirit Shirt program and Jag Prowl spirit events.

Pacers Sports & Entertainment, IUPUI Intercollegiate Athletics

The relationship between Pacers Sports & Entertainment and Jaguars Athletics exemplifies the impact of IUPUI’s mission to engage with civic partners. With leadership from Indiana University trustee Jim Morris as president, Pacers Sports & Entertainment has long supported multiple athletic department initiatives, including most recently the Hall of Fame induction dinner in January. Additionally, the organization has provided the Jaguars basketball programs multiple opportunities to practice and play games in one of the nation’s premier facilities, Bankers Life Fieldhouse.

Kathy Cabello, IUPUI Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

As a first-generation American and the first member of her family to attend college directly from high school, Kathy Cabello understands the challenges Latinos face in pursuing higher education.

Today, Cabello devotes much of her time to mentoring Hispanic youth, tutoring math students and leading pre-college programs such as Project Stepping Stone of Indiana.

Regina Turner, IUPUI University College

Regina Turner joined University College faculty in 1998 and served as the campus-community liaison working with churches, high schools and families to raise awareness and interest in higher education. Through a joint appointment with communication studies, she created a course that combined three of her life’s passions — theater, higher education and social justice — and focuses on the internal motivations that can lead to student attrition. Turner presented more than 50 full-length productions that focused on the intersection between the lives of students and higher education, covering issues such as romantic relationships, challenges in government regulations and intolerance of religious pluralism.

Charlie Green, IUPUI University Library

Throughout his career with AT&T, Charlie Green has been active in the community. Since 2009, he has served as chairman of the IUPUI University Library Board of Community Advocates, having joined the board in 2004. During his tenure, Green has helped the University Library build relationships with other community leaders and cultivated philanthropic gifts that transformed library programs and learning spaces to better meet the needs of students.

Columbus Regional Health, Indiana University-Purdue University Columbus

Columbus Regional Health understands the need for nursing education in southeastern Indiana. Through its charitable giving designated for nursing faculty summer tenure track support, IUPUC is able to competitively retain and grow the doctorally prepared tenure track faculty to ensure excellence in teaching and scholarship, including research. The gift will help IUPUC reach its goal of having 50 percent tenure track faculty. Columbus Regional Health and the Columbus Regional Health Foundation are vital educational partners with IUPUC and the Columbus region.

Cindy Simon Skjodt, IU Herron School of Art and Design

The art therapy graduate degree program at the Herron School of Art and Design is on its way to national acclaim thanks to philanthropist Cindy Simon Skjodt. Through the Samerian Foundation, her personal foundation, the Cindy Simon Skjodt Chair in Art Therapy is being established. The support will help Herron respond to Indiana’s need to educate master’s-level art therapists. The program’s mission closely aligns with Simon Skjodt’s interest in therapeutic counseling, mental health and neurological research. Over the past decade, she has supported Herron’s community learning programs and international study program and the John Herron Society.

Eugene & Marilyn Glick Family Foundation, IU Kelley School of Business Indianapolis

The Gene B. Glick Company Scholarship was one of the first scholarships to be awarded to business students in the Kelley School of Business Indianapolis program. Established in 1996, the Gene B. Glick Company Scholarship recognizes and rewards students who exhibit academic merit and financial need. Two undergraduate students, one from the Indianapolis program and one from the Bloomington campus, majoring in entrepreneurship, finance, real estate or management, are awarded this prestigious scholarship each year. To date, 36 students have received this honor.

John E. Marynell, IU Robert H. McKinney School of Law Indianapolis

As a 1963 graduate of the IU School of Arts and Sciences and a 1967 graduate of the McKinney School of Law, John Marynell is a longtime friend and supporter of Indiana University, a member of IU’s prestigious President’s Circle and an avid IU Athletics fan. Marynell’s significant philanthropic efforts support the McKinney School of Law through an endowed scholarship in his name geared toward incoming law students.

Drs. Eugene and Karyl Rickard, IU School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences

Drs. Eugene and Karyl Rickard were honored for their efforts to support the next generation of pediatric dieticians. Karyl, a chartered fellow in the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, served the university with distinction during her 40-year career as professor of nutrition and dietetics. Her work in childhood diabetes was the first to demonstrate that sucrose could be included in the diets of children with well-controlled diabetes mellitus. Together, Karyl and Eugene endowed the annual Dr. Karyl Rickard Pediatric Nutrition Award, which will recognize students who demonstrate potential for significant contributions to the profession of pediatric nutrition.

Joe Rinard, IU School of Dentistry

Joe Rinard completed his DDS at the school in 1955 and is a member of the Omicron Kappa Upsilon National Dental Honor Society. He worked as a student with the world-renowned dental materials professor Dr. Ralph Phillips and considers it a privilege to support the dental materials program and the building project at the school. He attributes his philanthropic nature to Dr. Robert Cooper, head of the biology department during his undergraduate studies at Ball State University. Rinard’s philanthropy also benefits Ball State, where a new greenhouse featuring one of the largest collegiate collections of orchids anywhere is being constructed in honor of his late wife, Alice Rinard.

Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation, IU School of Education at IUPUI

Since 2007,  the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation has partnered with the school to support the Woodrow Wilson Indiana Teaching Fellowship. Thanks to ongoing support from the foundation, this fellowship program features IUPUI and its higher education partners, Purdue University, Ball State University and the University of Indianapolis, in providing an accelerated master’s program in education to talented and committed individuals with backgrounds in science, technology, engineering and math. Program graduates are specifically prepared to teach STEM subjects to middle and high school students in high-need Indiana public schools. To date, the Indiana program has prepared 226 new teacher candidates and is estimated to reach more than 22,000 students each year.

Thomas O’Neil, IU School of Informatics and Computing at IUPUI

In the heyday of the 1960s, Thomas O’Neil dedicated himself to his studies and vision for success. He is founder and CEO of OfficeWorks Inc., Indianapolis, providing office equipment and design to forward-thinking businesses. He established the OfficeWorks Informatics Scholarship at IUPUI, helping undergraduates of diverse backgrounds achieve their informatics education. Last year he endowed that scholarship, ensuring its lasting impact.

Stephen J. Kern, IU School of Liberal Arts

Mid-career, Stephen Kern returned to IUPUI to pursue his deep interest in philosophy, earning his second of two degrees from the campus (BS’73, business; BA’90, philosophy). As retired vice president for finance at the Cox Insurance Group, Kern created the Burke-Tilley Fund for Graduate Students in Philosophy and the Stephen J. Kern Programmatic Fund for Philosophy, which will advance the teaching, research, learning and service missions of the philosophy department at IUPUI. Kern also has served as a member of the School of Liberal Arts’ Dean’s Advisory Council and Impact Campaign Council.

Barratt and Kim Patton, IU School of Physical Education and Tourism Management

Barratt and Kim Patton were honored for their support of IU’s Camp Brosius — a summer family camp in Elkhart Lake, Wis. Barratt Patton has been an annual visitor to the camp for more than 50 years, first going in 1959 when his father, an IU geology professor, took the entire family for a visit. Kim, who accompanied Barratt to Camp Brosius in 1973, the year the couple married, also fell in love with the entire camp experience. The Pattons contribute substantially to Camp Brosius, understanding the impact of contributions on the facility’s property and upkeep, and believe the camp generates goodwill for Indiana University. A retired UPS pilot, Barratt maximized the couple’s giving by leveraging matching UPS gifts for several years.

Dr. George E. Branam, IU School of Medicine

A graduate of Indiana University and the IU School of Medicine, Dr. George Branam has been a dedicated supporter of his alma mater. A Muncie, Ind., pathologist, Branam has supported many initiatives at IU and the School of Medicine, including an endowed scholarship fund in his name, the IU School of Medicine Fund and the Brater Chair in Global Health Education. Branam has been a member of the Dean’s Council for more than 30 years and serves as president of the council’s board of directors. He also has served on the IU Cancer Leadership Committee.

Dr. Victor and Janice Malinovsky, IU School of Optometry

Dr. Victor and Janice Malinovsky met as IU students; she in the School of Education and he in the School of Optometry, where he will retire this year after being voted the school’s Professor of the Year 15 times and receiving the President’s Award in Recognition of Distinguished Teaching from IU. Their commitment — both in the classroom and as dedicated benefactors — has inspired the school to establish the Victor and Janice Malinovsky Scholarship. The endowment will allow the Malinovskys to continue to have an impact on the lives of future optometry students.

Students Helping Students Scholarship, IU School of Nursing

In 2010, a group of IU nursing students established a scholarship for students from students: the Students Helping Students Scholarship. Since then, many conscientious nursing students have supported this scholarship through a variety of fundraisers designed to attract attention to the fund and its cause. They have continuously devoted their time and energy to giving back to the School of Nursing and future generations of nursing students. The scholarship is open to IUPUI undergraduate nursing students in at least their fifth semester and holding a minimum GPA of 3.0. To qualify for the scholarship, applicants must write an essay that includes topics such as exemplifying a positive attitude in class, student leadership and the characteristics of a nurse leader.

Maureen and Jim Hackett, IU Lilly Family School of Philanthropy

In February 2013, Maureen and Jim Hackett transformed the world of philanthropy in a profound way with the creation of the nation’s first endowed chair in women’s philanthropy. The Eileen Lamb O’Gara Chair in Women’s Philanthropy, named for Maureen’s mother, will conduct groundbreaking research on gender and giving. This position will ensure that women’s philanthropy remains prominent and permanent in the study of philanthropy. 

Katherine Rhyne, IU School of Public and Environmental Affairs at IUPUI

Named as one of Washingtonian magazine’s “best environmental attorneys,” Katherine Rhyne has received numerous accolades from legal publications and colleagues. As a founding member of the School of Public and Environmental Affairs Dean’s Council in 2009, Rhyne has been instrumental in setting the direction of the school and has supported top students throughout their graduate careers.

Richard M. Fairbanks Foundation, IU Richard M. Fairbanks School of Public Health

Established in 1986, the Richard M. Fairbanks Foundation has sought to fund initiatives and organizations delivering impactful solutions that address key challenges facing the Indianapolis community. As a result of a generous gift from the foundation, the Richard M. Fairbanks School of Public Health at IUPUI was established. Envisioned to support IU’s efforts to address the critical public health problems that affect the quality of life of many Hoosiers, the school complements the resources of other health sciences’ schools on the IUPUI campus. Through its support, the foundation has positioned IU to develop a variety of innovative research and educational programs that are helping to build a statewide collaborative approach to improved public health.

Dr. Martin and Joy Pentz, IU School of Social Work at IUPUI

Dr. Martin and Joy Pentz were honored for their efforts to get more people involved in medical social work. On a daily basis, Martin, a military veteran, uses his skill as a social worker to assist a group of people he truly loves: veterans. An IU alumna, Martin serves as a substance abuse social worker and lead ethics consultant with the Veterans Affairs in Indianapolis. Martin and his wife, Joy, created the Elise Pentz Social Work Scholarship in 2010 to assist students interested in oncology and medical social work.

Robert and Terri Orr, Purdue School of Engineering and Technology at IUPUI

In 2001, Robert and Terri Orr established the Brancato Scholarship in honor of Robert’s mother, Kathryn Brancato Cushman, and her father, Michelangelo Brancato. The scholarship was established in support of students who are single parents juggling academic pursuits and course work in tandem with parenting. Robert Orr served as a distinguished member of the faculty in the school as professor of computer and information technology from 1985 to 2006.

Dow AgroSciences LLC, Purdue School of Science at IUPUI

Dow AgroSciences’s support of the School of Science and the Center for Earth and Environmental Science’s K-12 science, technology, engineering and mathematics education programming continues a long-standing partnership supporting the center’s Discovering the Science of the Environment educational program. Dow AgroSciences was among the founding donors of this award-winning program that has served more than 15,000 K-12 students locally. The company has taken additional steps to ensure that the outreach programs benefit current IUPUI students by connecting undergraduates to our local and international communities. An additional partnership with the school and the center will establish a global STEM agricultural exchange network based on the success of Discovering the Science of the Environment.