The Eli Lilly And Company Foundation Inc. has donated $75,000 to the Butler University Celebration of Diversity Distinguished Lecture Series, continuing a commitment the foundation started in 2002.
“The Lilly Foundation is pleased to once again support Butler University and the diversity lecture series,” said Robert L. Smith, president of the Lilly Foundation. “The lecture series brings remarkable speakers to Butler and helps spark important dialogue in our community.”
This year’s speakers will be announced later this summer.
The lecture series, which began in 1987, was created to provide Butler and the greater Indianapolis community with opportunities to encounter dignitaries and scholars through short-term campus visits. The lecture series, which has been a joint collaboration between the University and the Office of the Mayor since 2002, has become one of the largest multicultural collegiate observances in the Midwest, hosting more than 35,000 people in the last decade.
Lecturers have included former Presidents Bill Clinton and George H.W. Bush, former Secretary of State Colin Powell, Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Coretta Scott King. Events in the series are almost always free and open to the public.
Butler has been able to host the series without cost to the public with the support of corporate and foundation partners.
The Celebration of Diversity Distinguished Lecture Series has received generous support from the mayor’s office, Eli Lilly and Company Foundation, Vectren Corporation, Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield, Citizens Energy Group, Indianapolis Power & Light Company, Old National Bank, The Columbia Club and Radio One.
Media Contact:
Marc Allan
mallan@butler.edu
(317) 940-9822
