The 16th annual James A. Perkins Prize for Interracial Harmony and Understanding was presented April 28 to the Cornell Farmworker Program. Honorable mentions went to the IthaQatar Student Ambassadors and the Cornell Urban Mentor Initiative.

"Creating a community that welcomes and embraces racial and ethnic diversity continues to be one of the university's highest priorities," said Kent L. Hubbell, the Robert W. and Elizabeth C. Staley Dean of Students, "and it is members of the Cornell community who help bring these initiatives to life."

The Cornell Farmworker Program, directed by Mary Jo Dudley, works to improve the living and working conditions of farmworkers and their families, to raise awareness about farmworkers' contributions to society and to further their acceptance and full participation in local communities. Its research and outreach efforts, in collaboration with students and faculty, include: assessing farmworker needs in New York via data collection; developing educational materials and programs to address those needs; and responding to immigrant farmworkers' requests for information and training through on-farm workshops.

Notable student accomplishments include developing instructional materials on chemical safety on dairy farms; Spanish-language skits on emergency planning; a curriculum on culturally relevant content for English as a Second Language; and an in-depth study of immigrant farmworkers' perspectives on their social interactions.

Cornell IthaQatar Student Ambassadors, established in 2008, is the first cross-campus student organization to bridge Weill Cornell Medical College-Qatar (WCMC-Q) with Cornell in Ithaca by encouraging cultural and social exchanges, teamwork and global networking between students in Ithaca and Doha.

The Cornell Urban Mentor Initiative (also known as the Cornell Mentorship Initiative) seeks to build community partnerships by connecting middle school students with Cornell students to help address inequalities in the education system regarding minorities and socio-economic status. Each year, about 30 Cornell students support the personal and academic development of middle school students in Brooklyn's Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood.

The awards were presented by Cornell President David Skorton and Hubbell to Dudley on behalf of the Farmworker Program to Jonathan Soh '10 and Maen Abou Ziki of WCMC-Q for the ambassador's program and to Kaylie Ackerley '12 for the mentorship program. The ceremony and reception were capped by performances by the student group 14 Strings! Cornell Filipino Rondalla, a string ensemble that showcases Philippine native 14-stringed instruments.

Cornell trustee emeritus Thomas W. Jones '69 established the Perkins Prize in 1995 to promote the advancement of campus interracial understanding and to honor former Cornell President James A. Perkins.