Randall Tobias in Indiana to discuss efforts to combat AIDS

Indiana University has arranged for a media availability on Monday (May 10) at 1:30 p.m. in Indianapolis with Randall L. Tobias, U.S. Global AIDS coordinator and chairman emeritus of Eli Lilly and Co. Tobias will be back in Indianapolis for the dedication of the Tobias Center for Leadership Excellence, a new research and outreach initiative housed in IU's Kelley School of Business in Indianapolis.

The availability will take place in Room 234 of the IUPUI Conference Center, 850 W. Michigan St., on the campus of Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis.

Ambassador Tobias will have just returned from a three-nation African tour. During the tour, he signed an agreement giving $10 million from President George W. Bush's emergency AIDS fund to a South African non-governmental organization called Right to Care. The U.S. government has pledged $15 billion over five years to the global fight against AIDS.

Tobias will be available to discuss the new center -- made possible by a gift from the Randall L. Tobias Foundation -- and his newsmaking trip.

Joining Tobias at the availability will be Gerald L. Bepko, chancellor emeritus of IUPUI and the center's inaugural director, and Philip L. Cochran, holder of the Thomas W. Binford Chair in corporate citizenship at the Kelley School and the center's associate director.

Creation of the Tobias Center for Leadership Excellence was announced in April. The center will be a preeminent source, collaborator and convener on the subject of effective leadership across multiple sectors in the economy. This concentrated focus on cross-sectored leadership in the corporate, public service, education and nonprofit communities will distinguish the center's agenda as unique among leadership programs nationwide. It will conduct research and offer curricula and teaching strategies designed to inspire effective leadership skills that change lives and organizations.

The media are welcome to attend the dedication program, beginning at 5:30 p.m., in the conference center. For more information about the center, contact Mary Chappell at the Kelley School of Business at 317-274-3980 or [email protected].