Rutgers Announces Human Dignity Awards; Celebrating Efforts to Encourage Diversity, Reduce Prejudice
April 08, 2005
NEW BRUNSWICK/PISCATAWAY, N.J. – Three Rutgers employees and a student center that serves a broad mix of constituencies will receive the Rutgers Human Dignity Award, an annual honor that celebrates efforts to reduce prejudice and promote respect for diversity.
Recipients include Patricia Kettenring of Summit, director of the Business and the Arts Program at Rutgers Business School – Newark and New Brunswick and founder of the Glass Roots Project at Rutgers-Newark; Elizabeth Hillman of Philadelphia, Pa., and Traci Overton of Voorhees, co-directors of the Marshall Brennan Fellowship Program of Rutgers-Camden Law School; and the Paul Robeson Cultural Center on Rutgers’ Busch campus in Piscataway.
The honorees will receive the awards at a reception set for 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesday, April 13 at Winants Hall, College Avenue and Somerset Street.
As a founder of the Business and the Arts Program, Kettenring teaches courses in business and entrepreneurship designed to give students seeking careers in the arts the tools to succeed. Five years ago, she founded the Glass Roots Project, www.glassroots.org, in which young city residents create glass art projects while working with Rutgers students, faculty and staff to sharpen skills needed to market the artwork.
Hillman and Overton direct a program aimed at breaking down barriers between Camden city schools and the university. Under the Marshall-Brennan Fellowship Program, 12 Rutgers-Camden law students teach a course in constitutional law for city high school students. The program also guides fellows through the process of writing major papers on pressing issues in constitutional law and educational policy. The fellowships honor the memory of Supreme Court Justices Thurgood Marshall and William J. Brennan Jr.
The Paul Robeson Cultural Center offers a spectrum of academic, social, professional and cultural initiatives designed to enrich the university community, with a focus on the African-American, African and West Indian experiences. The center works to create a positive learning, teaching and working environment through a range of different programs that focus on awareness of diversity, inclusiveness and civility.
The Human Dignity Award is sponsored by the Rutgers’ Office of the President and the Committee to Advance Our Common Purposes, part of the Office of the Vice President for Student Affairs. Each winner receives a $1,000 honorarium and $500 for the organization, college, academic or administrative unit of the recipient’s choice. For more information about diversity at Rutgers, visit diversityweb.rutgers.edu.
Contact: Pam Orel 732/932-7084, ext. 614 E-mail: porel@ur.rutgers.edu