Tarah Trueblood

Pankhuri Aggarwal

Tristen Hall

Natalee Price

Samuel Van Vleet

Tarah Trueblood, Director of the Center for American and World Cultures, and graduate students Pankhuri Aggarwal (Clinical Psychology), Tristen Hall (Student Affairs in Higher Education), Natalee Price (Clinical Psychology), and Samuel Van Vleet (Social Gerontology) were recently honored by President Crawford for their work on the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Task Force. Each received the President’s Medallion and Proclamation, the premier honor at Miami University to recognize individuals who exemplify Miami's values of Love and Honor.

Trueblood said, "We are grateful to have been part of the President's 2020 DEI Task Force and are honored to receive these unexpected awards. Each of us has been involved in the development, implementation, and improvement of Global Initiative's Intergroup Dialogue Initiative."

The Presidential Proclamation states:

The Miami University President’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Task Force provided valuable expertise, advice, insight, and transformational recommendations to create, enhance and advance Diversity, Equity and Inclusion efforts across all Miami campuses and throughout the entire Miami community. Their dedicated, tireless and inclusive work offered a voice to all, and will help achieve the highest aspiration of inclusive excellence. The diligent, determined, transformative efforts of the Task Force are an inspiration to all and are in keeping with the highest virtues and qualities of Love and Honor.

Trueblood served as chair of the Subcommittee for Pillar 1: Dialogue and Alllyship. Price also served on that team. Aggarwal served on the Cultural Competence subcommittee; Hall served on Pillar 5: Inclusion and Accountability; and Van Vleet served on the Cultural Consciousness subcommittee. All four graduate students also serve as co-facilitators for sections of IDS 253: Voices Intergroup Dialogue.

"We are delighted to see and continue to actively work towards the implementation of recommendations for its expansion to the broader campus and community. We thoroughly appreciate Miami University's increasing emphasis on diversity, equity, and inclusion priorities, including those pertinent to intergroup dialogue," said Trueblood.