'Education's great statesman' receives inaugural Urban University Medal at IUPUI

By Trisha Turner

Decades of work that embody the spirit and ideals of urban education have earned U.S. Secretary of Education Richard W. Riley the inaugural IUPUI Urban University Medal.

Riley Riley received the honor at the dedication of the University College Building Oct. 2.

"For nearly 30 years, IUPUI has cultivated partnerships between the campus and community to become one of the nation's premier urban universities," said IUPUI Chancellor Gerald L. Bepko. "It is fitting, then, for this university to honor Richard Riley, who for decades has created partnerships that have made him one of education's great statesmen."

University College is welcoming its first class of entering students this fall and places new focus on recruitment and retention of undergraduate students at IUPUI. The new academic unit is the entry point for all undergraduates. The college is designed to meet the unique needs of entering students through such support services as academic counseling, mentoring and tutoring, and through a gateway course that aims to orient undergraduates to life on campus and to college-level study.

Riley has displayed the urban university spirit of collaboration and holistic view of education through such endeavors as the national Partnership for Family Involvement in Education, which today includes more than 4,000 groups.

Riley's "America Reads" initiative will organize at least one million volunteer reading tutors to ensure that elementary schoolchildren are reading independently and well by the end of the third grade. IUPUI is more than half-way toward its goal of recruiting 80 students as tutors to serve at 11 community sites, including seven community centers and four public schools. IUPUI programs such as Good Friends and the Center for Public Service and Leadership are involved in that initiative. IU Kokomo recently received a grant of $53,000 from the Indiana Campus Compact, a consortium of more than 25 Hoosier campuses, to expand its campus participation in "America Reads."

While governor of South Carolina, Riley created a state Education Improvement Act, which established tougher requirements for students, educators and school administrators. The ideals of that initiative may be found in standards set by Indiana's own Professional Standards Board.