The Bloomington Faculty Council is pleased to announce the 2023 recipients of the Indiana University Inclusive Excellence Award, which recognizes faculty members who display exceptional leadership in fostering diversity and inclusion on campus and in the surrounding Bloomington community.
Created in 2021 by the Bloomington Faculty Council’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee and the Office of the Vice President for Diversity, Equity and Multicultural Affairs, the effort is part of Indiana University’s institutional commitment to support equal access, representation and participation.
“Fostering diversity, equity and inclusion is central to our mission at IU Bloomington,” says James C. Wimbush, IU's vice president for diversity, equity and multicultural affairs, interim IUB vice provost for diversity and inclusion, and Johnson Chair for Diversity and Leadership. “It is gratifying to celebrate many talented faculty members who have worked tirelessly to help Indiana University build a more diverse and welcoming campus community. Their research work, teaching efforts, mentoring, support and more make a difference every day for our students and our campus community.”
Wimbush adds that a key element of the Inclusive Excellence Award is formally recognizing individuals doing DEI work behind the scenes for years.
Nominations for the award are made by faculty, staff and students. Self-nominations are accepted, as well.
IU Bloomington’s Office of the Vice Provost for Diversity & Inclusion provided stipends of $1,500 to $2,000 to this year’s honorees.
The $2,000 Inclusive Excellence Award winners are:
- Thomas James, professor, Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences in the College of Arts and Sciences. James’ research involves the neural mechanisms underlying human object recognition and representation.
- Sonia Lee, associate professor, Department of American Studies and Latino Studies Program in the College of Arts and Sciences; director of graduate studies for the Latino Studies Program; and associate director, Center for Research on Race and Ethnicity in Society. Lee’s work focuses on Black and Latinx studies, social movements, constructions of race and ethnicity, trauma and healing, mental health and abolition.
- Sylvia Martinez, associate professor, Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies in the School of Education and Latino Studies Program in the College of Arts and Sciences. Martinez concentrates her research on Latino/a education, Latino/a ethnic identity development and sociology of education issues.
- Eric Allen Sader, lecturer, Department of Business Law & Ethics in the Kelley School of Business. Sader’s work focuses on applied ethics, poverty law, alternative dispute resolution and elder law.
- Malcolm Smith, associate professor, ceramics in the Eskenazi School of Art, Architecture + Design; director of Graduate Studies - Bloomington. Smith explores race and representation in his ceramic sculptures, incorporating Modernist formalism and comic book vernacular.
- Ellen Wu, associate professor, Department of History in the College of Arts and Sciences; affiliated faculty, Asian American Studies Program; affiliated faculty, Center for Research on Race and Ethnicity in Society. Wu researches, teaches and writes about race, migration and belonging in United States history.
The $1,500 Inclusive Excellence Award winners are recognized for their shared work on the IU Physics M.S. to Ph.D. Bridge Program.
- Jon Urheim, professor, Department of Physics in the College of Arts and Sciences. Urheim’s work includes the Indiana University Bridge Program, established in 2015 as one of six American Physical Society-supported efforts to increase the number of underrepresented minority students undertaking Ph.D. studies in physics.
- Garfield Warren, research scientist, Department of Physics in the College of Arts and Sciences. Warren is an experimentalist in condensed matter physics whose research includes investigating the phase behavior and properties of complex fluids. He actively supports the Indiana Black Expo Summer Celebration, where he conducts physics demonstrations for underrepresented students.
“The recipients of the Inclusive Excellence Award demonstrate how Indiana University thrives when we work together toward meaningful inclusion of our whole community,” IU Bloomington Provost and Executive Vice President Rahul Shrivastav said. “Their efforts and dedication can serve as inspiration as we strive to cultivate equitable opportunity and success for all learners.”
This year’s Inclusive Excellence Award recipients will be honored at an awards ceremony next fall.