Student group is awarded the 2002 Perkins Prize

By Franklin Crawford

BLEND, a Cornell student group dedicated to raising awareness of issues experienced by people of mixed race, received the 2002 Perkins Prize for Interracial Understanding and Harmony at a ceremony in Willard Straight Hall April 9.

Tamika Lewis '02, who received the 2002 Perkins Prize for her student organization, BLEND, is interviewed by Erica Eisenstein of NewsCenter 7 following the awards ceremony in the Memorial Room of Willard Straight Hall, April 9. Frank DiMeo/University Photography

"Promoting respect for racial and ethnic diversity continues to be one of the universities highest priorities," said Cornell President Hunter Rawlings, who presented the $5,000 Perkins Prize and certificate to Tamika Lewis '02, founder and president of BLEND (Bi-/Multiracial Lineages, Ethnicities, and Nationalities Discussion). "While the administration can issue policy statements, it is the members of the Cornell community who create the hands-on initiatives that foster an understanding of diversity within our community."

Two Perkins Prize finalists also received certificates and $1,000 cash awards: Salah Hassan, associate professor of Africana studies and chair of the Department of History of Art, for his organization of the 2001 Blackness in Color Art Exhibition at Cornell's Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art; and Quinetta Roberson, assistant professor in the School of Industrial and Labor Relations, who developed the seminar series "Leadership, Management, and Diversity in Corporate America" and the course "Diversity and Inclusion in Organizations."

Lewis, who founded BLEND in the fall semester of 2001, is applying to the Cornell College of Veterinary Medicine and said she will continue to advise the group after she graduates.

"Keeping on track is a big challenge for any student organization, and I'm going to do what I can to ensure that BLEND continues to play an important role in the community," Lewis said.

The Perkins Prize was established in 1994 by Cornell trustee emeritus Thomas W. Jones to promote efforts for the advancement of interracial understanding and community on the Cornell campus and to honor Cornell President Emeritus James A. Perkins.

Speaking on behalf Jones, who was unable to attend the ceremony, Susan Murphy, vice president for student and academic services, said: "Those to whom the most has been given have the greatest obligation to give back, to try and help others and to set the right kind of example. It is important to create a better community and a better society, not by preaching but by doing."

"With this prize," Murphy added in her own words, "that is just what Tom Jones is doing."

The Sabor Latino Dance Ensemble provided entertainment during the event and opening remarks were provided by Kent Hubbell, the Robert W. and Elizabeth C. Staley Dean of Students.