| RELATED RELEASE |
| * First director hired for new Native American Educational and Cultural Center |
October 1, 2007
Native American Educational and Cultural Center dedication to highlight heritage
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - |
The event will be 9:30 a.m. to noon in a tent at Steely and Sheetz streets near the center, located in South Campus Courts, Building B, at 503 Harrison St. The dedication will start with a blessing, followed by remarks from Purdue President France A. Córdova.
Members of the Miami Nation of Indians of Indiana, Wea Indian Tribe of Indiana, Eel River Tribe of Indiana, Wea Indian Tribe and the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians will participate in the center's dedication.
"Purdue prides itself on being a leader among universities in diversity, and we will now add the rich culture of the Native American to our campus," said Dorothy Reed, assistant provost. "Our newest cultural center will provide a new connection, and anytime we can bring cultures together, it strengthens all. The center will be an information source, a place where students can interact about the college experience, and it will be another avenue in which we can help them succeed."
The center's creation is the result of a grant from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation and the campuswide Mosaic initiative, which is the cornerstone for all multicultural educational projects at the university.
The Sloan Foundation will provide $32,100 to each of 20 master's degree students and $38,500 to eight doctoral degree students over the course of their degree programs in STEM disciplines - science, technology, engineering and mathematics - over the next three academic years.
The dedication reception will open and close with blessings by members of various tribal communities, said Verónica Hirsch, the center's first director, who was hired this summer.
"Incoming students must undergo enormous physical, emotional, psychological and spiritual adjustments upon campus arrival," she said. "The center will facilitate new and current students' transition into the larger university culture while reinforcing the importance of maintaining meaningful connections to home, tribal communities and of creating a supportive student community."
Purdue currently has 138 Native American students, including 119 undergraduates and 19 graduate students.
Writer: Jim Bush, (765) 494-2077, jsbush@purdue.edu
Sources: Verónica Hirsch, (765) 494-4539, vhirsch@purdue.edu
Dorothy Reed, (765) 494-5928, reed7@purdue.edu
Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; purduenews@purdue.edu
PHOTO CAPTION:
Verónica Hirsch (left) and graduate student Candice Guy (right) present a Pendleton blanket as a gift to Purdue President France A. Córdova during the dedication ceremony Saturday (Oct. 6) of the university's Native American Educational and Cultural Center.
Guy is a graduate student in population, ecology and evolution. Members of the Miami Nation of Indians of Indiana, Wea Indian Tribe of Indiana, Eel River Tribe of Indiana, Wea Indian Tribe and the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians participated in the ceremony on the grounds of the center at South Campus Courts, Building B, 503 Harrison St. The center's creation is the result of a grant from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation and the campuswide Mosaic initiative, which is the cornerstone for all multicultural educational projects at the university. "The center will facilitate new and current students' transition into the larger university culture while reinforcing the importance of maintaining meaningful connections to home, tribal communities and of creating a supportive student community," said its first director, Hirsch.
(Purdue News Service photo/Dave Umberger)
A publication-quality photo is available at https://www.purdue.edu/uns/images/+2007/cordova-nativeamerican.jpg
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