Cornell Interactive Theatre Ensemble wins 2001 James A. Perkins Prize

The 2001 James A. Perkins Prize for Interracial Understanding and Harmony at Cornell has been awarded to the Cornell Interactive Theatre Ensemble (CITE) for its human relations work. The Perkins award, which carries a $5,000 cash prize, was presented during an awards ceremony Wednesday, April 18, by Provost Biddy Martin and Vice President Susan Murphy.

Martin read remarks during the ceremony from Cornell alumnus and trustee Thomas W. Jones '69, MRP '72, who created and endowed the award seven years ago. "The purpose of the Perkins Prize is to honor those who strive to achieve the highest standards of interracial understanding, even when it is not easy or popular to do so," Jones said in his message.

CITE, one of 17 nominees considered by a panel of students, faculty members and administrators, employs interactive theater to explore issues of responsibility for the establishing and maintaining of a productive educational and workplace climate across differences in race, ethnicity, nationality, gender, sexual orientation, disability and age.

Established in 1992, the ensemble encourages participation from a wide range of students -- 560 were involved during the first semester of the current academic year -- to provide programs at Cornell and conduct outreach services for other academic institutions, corporations and non-profit organizations nationwide.

CITE tries to encourage frank and fruitful dialogue about issues that are often difficult to discuss, to enhance the ability of those it serves to improve relationships through dialogue, to appreciate points of view that often go unheard, to recognize the complexity of diversity issues, to share stories of its members' own experiences and to recognize the importance of aligning intentions with their impact on others. Dane Cruz is interim director of the ensemble.

Two other finalists for the 2001 Perkins Prize were honored at the awards ceremony and reception in the Memorial Room of Willard Straight Hall. They are Cornell Cinema and members of the West Campus/ Collegetown community development staff in the Campus Life unit of the Division of Student and Academic Services for their program "Dinner and Dialogue: Conversations on Diversity."

Cornell Cinema, which is directed by Mary Fessenden, annually attracts a campus and community audience of almost 70,000 and works with 40 to 60 student entities in pursuit of thematically diverse cinematic programming. It was cited by the selection committee for opening channels of communication among diverse groups and promoting interracial understanding and harmony.

"Dinner and Dialogue," directed by Courtney O'Mealley, a student services associate at Noyes Center on West Campus, utilized a multimedia show, a sit-down supper and a facilitated post-dinner discussion to challenge 100 participants "to look beyond the superficial to see the underlying human elements which bind us together," the committee said.

The Perkins Prize was established by Jones, a leader of the 1969 student protests at Cornell, who is chairman and CEO for Global Investment Management and the Private Banking Group at Citigroup Inc. He named the prize in honor of Cornell's president from 1963 through 1969. James Perkins engineered a 25-fold increase in Cornell's minority undergraduate student body and established the Black Studies Center, leading to creation of the Africana Studies and Research Center. He left the president's office in the aftermath of the protests. Establishment of the prize in 1994 signaled a reconciliation between Jones and Perkins (who died in 1998). In the letter from Jones read at Wednesday's ceremony, Jones said: "I established the prize because it was important to recognize President Perkins while he was alive to appreciate it. The Cornell community should support the prize as an ongoing commitment to the principles championed by President Perkins."

Previous winners of the Perkins Prize have been Seth Meinero '95, for his work with the Cornell Political Forum; the Festival of Black Gospel; Orpheus Malik Williams '98, for his work with Peer Educators in Human Relations; Akwe:kon; the Multicultural Living Learning Unit; and, last year, the Campus Climate Committee.