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Barnes honored for Distinguished Service
April 7, 2005 | ||||||
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KOKOMO, Ind.—The IU Kokomo Alumni Association will present its 2005 Distinguished Service Award to Catherine Barnes, coordinator of IU Kokomo's Office of Campus Climate since 1996. Alumni and other friends of Barnes are invited to see her receive the award during the Cream and Crimson Dinner, Saturday, April 30, at 6:30 p.m. in the Kelley Student Center. Call (765) 455-9411 or e-mail alumni@iuk.edu for reservations. The Office of Campus Climate provides networking opportunities, academic counseling, and heritage celebrations for African-American, Hispanic, Native American, and other students of color at IU Kokomo, as well as the campus' international students. To the leagues of students she has mentored through the office, Barnes is an exacting academic counselor, sympathetic listener, and unrelenting nudge to stretch and try new things. “She inspired me, introduced me to people, pushed me to do my best,” said Lisa Taylor, B.S. '99, of Marion. Barnes helped Andre Wofford, B.S. '00, of Kokomo land a scholarship, just the “push” he needed to move from part-time to full-time student. Current seniors Elijah Barry and Tiffany Hendrickson received extra financial support for school when Barnes signed them up as Gear-Up Mentors. They tutor freshmen and sophomores onto firm academic footing. Barry said he ran for Student Government Senator because Barnes encouraged him to take a leadership role. “Mrs. Barnes sees our positive features and draws them out of us,” said Hendrickson. “She pays you the compliment she knows you need. She never stops.” During a week of civic involvement activities in February, Barnes brought numerous students—many first-time donors—to a blood drive and other activities, said Sarah Hawkins, director of Student Development and Campus Life. “She would physically walk students to the table where they could write to their state representatives about funding for higher education.” Barnes connects quickly with students, Hawkins said. “Cathy has a true commitment to students and helping them achieve their best. She has the ability to motivate students to action.” A graduate of Kokomo High School, Barnes earned a bachelor's degree in pharmacy and pharmaceutical sciences in 1973 from Purdue University. Her college mentors set the path that Barnes follows today. “I was successful in college because someone asked me what I was doing and how could they help me,” she said. “I always wanted to ask those questions of other students.” Her degree gave her a focus and marketable skills, Barnes added. “I want more people to get those degrees that can change their lives and ours.” Barnes worked as a pharmacist in Indiana, Oklahoma, and California. She and her husband, Fred Barnes, eventually owned and operated four highly successful pharmacies in Los Angeles. She later scaled back her career to raise her four children, and she and Fred returned to Indiana in 1991 to be closer to their families. Barnes managed the telemarketing office of The Kokomo Tribune for two years, reacquainting herself with hometown contacts. All of this made her ready when the Office of Campus Climate position opened in 1996, she said. “I knew people in the community, I liked serving people as I did as a pharmacist, and (former Chancellor) Emita Hill took a vested interest in me succeeding. She was very pro-diversity.” In her first year with IU Kokomo, Barnes decided that campus climate could assist the needs of international students as well as American minorities. She befriended a Japanese student Keiji Yaginuma, whose experiences convinced Barnes that students coming from another country often needed help with “simple things, like finding an apartment or a car or knowing how to shop for groceries in America.” She believed that many foreign nationals had limited knowledge of average African Americans—“only what they saw on TV”—and that she could change their ideas by letting them get to know her and minority students. She had a similar epiphany two years ago when her duties expanded to include academic counseling within the School of Arts and Sciences (SOAS). “Suddenly I was having lunch with faculty members every day and getting a different perspective on the workings of the campus. I really win when I get out of my comfort zone.” Sue Sciame-Giesecke, Ph.D., dean of SOAS, credits Barnes for recent increases in IU Kokomo's recruitment of minority students and, equally important, for those students' retention through graduation. “Cathy Barnes is very committed to open access and the success of all students,” Sciame-Giescke said. “She'll go the extra mile to help students negotiate the college culture.” “The fact that people are different, come from different races and cultures, is exciting to Cathy,” Sciame-Giesecke added. “She's interested in bringing people together to learn about each other. A very warm and open person, Cathy gets to know you first, then helps you make the bridge to other races and cultures.”
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