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Tom Miller, Dean of the IUSB School of the Arts, presents a rose to Ernestine Raclin
It is more than the School of the Arts. It is the Ernestine M. Raclin School of the Arts. The school was named in honor of the legendary South Bend civic leader, philanthropist, volunteer, and businesswoman, Ernestine Morris Raclin. She was honored and celebrated with a brunch in October. More than 150 people gathered to sing her praises.
At the event, Chancellor Una Mae Reck observed that although she has only been a resident for six months, she already is aware of the importance of the Raclin and Morris names in the community. Raclin's tireless support of IU South Bend and the arts, on and off campus, is well known. She and her late husband Oliver C. Carmichael were forceful negotiators for a South Bend IU campus and worked toward land acquisition that is now the site of the campus.
A Lifetime in Philanthropy
Raclin has been involved with the School of the Arts for more than 20 years and helped organize the two IU South Bend Piano Festivals in 1998 and 2000. She is past president and a member of the Arts Foundation, as well as the chair of both the campus Advisory Board, and the Capital Campaign Cabinet. She is also a life director of the IU Foundation. In the community, she is a staunch supporter and volunteer on a number of boards that work for the arts and cultural diversity, as well as better housing and education. She is a member of the board of trustees of the South Bend Symphony, which was founded in 1933 by her mother, Ella Morris. She also serves as the chair for the Northern Indiana Partnership for the Arts.
She has been widely recognized for her talents as a leader in business and philanthropy. She is chairman emeritus of 1st Source Corporation, the largest locally-owned bank in the Northern Indiana/Southwestern Michigan area, which was co-founded by her father, Ernest M. Morris. She also served on the boards of First Chicago Corporation and First National Bank of Chicago.
In 1999, she received an honorary doctor of law from IU South Bend. Raclin also received the E.M. Morris Award in 1977 from the IU South Bend School of Business and Economics. Named for her father, the award is given to leaders who both advance business and the quality of life. In 2001, she received the Henry A. Rosso Medal for lifetime achievement in ethical fundraising from the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University.
As Raclin herself explained, "I've always felt that to have a really well-rounded community with true quality of life, you should have very handsomely recognized arts, with strong programs that are evident throughout the community. IU South Bend has been doing so many wonderful works, with marvelous music and arts. I certainly was not giving support just to be recognized, but I am absolutely thrilled and delighted by this."
Dean of the School of the Arts Tom Miller spoke of her love of the arts and the community: "The name change comes with an obligation that we must live up to. It raises the bar for us to be better at what we do."
Find out more about IUSB and the School of the Arts