News Releases

INDIANAPOLIS – November 21, 2016 . . . The International Center’s Board of Directors has selected Martin Baier to replace Diane Thomas as president and chief executive officer of the organization, effective January 4, 2017. Thomas, who has led The Center for the past decade, announced plans earlier this year to leave the organization at the end of 2016 to prepare for a 27-month engagement with the Peace Corps in a role as an NGO advisor in Ukraine. Following a nationwide search led by IC Board member Joerg Schreiber, Baier, who currently serves as The International Center’s vice president of
Read more...

INDIANAPOLIS and BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – (September 6, 2016) – Indiana University President Michael A. McRobbie will be honored by The International Center as the 2016 International Citizen of the Year before an audience of more than 500 people at the Indiana Roof Ballroom on Tuesday, Sept. 20. “The mission of The International Center is to inform, convene and connect public, private and civic global objectives in Indiana,” said Diane Thomas, president and CEO of The International Center and honorary French consul. “We have long felt that Dr. McRobbie is the embodiment of The Center’s overarching goal. All of us
Read more...

INDIANAPOLIS – July 28, 2016 . . . Diane Thomas, President and CEO of The International Center since 2006, has accepted an opportunity to serve with the Peace Corps in Ukraine.  She will leave The Center at the end of the year to prepare for her 27-month assignment which she will assume in March, 2017. “Leading the International Center has been an opportunity of a lifetime,” said Thomas. “It has been a fabulous experience to watch the growing internationalization of our city and state, and to lead an organization designed specifically to inform, convene and connect public, private and
Read more...

INDIANAPOLIS – (March 21, 2016)… The International Center has received a $237,000 grant from the Eli Lilly and Company Foundation.  To be awarded in installments over the next three years, the grant will serve to support general operations for the organization as well as provide funding for the launch of a new International Center program, Civic Engagement for Expatriates. With grant support from the Lilly Foundation and through a partnership with the Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy, the new Civic Engagement for Expatriates program offers participants the opportunity to develop their leadership profiles and enrich their experiences
Read more...

Feb. 12, 2016 INDIANAPOLIS and BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Indiana University President Michael A. McRobbie will receive the 2016 International Citizen of the Year Award, which honors those who have made outstanding contributions to the globalization of Indiana. McRobbie will receive the award from The International Center at a special dinner and ceremony on Sept. 20 at the Indiana Roof Ballroom in Indianapolis. Last year marked the 30th anniversary for the award, which was established in 1985 to recognize Hoosiers who have fostered a world view in Indiana through business, culture, education, government, medicine, research, media, sports and community service.
Read more...

(INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – November 17, 2015) . . . The Indiana Office of Small Business and Entrepreneurship’s Indiana Small Business Development Center (ISBDC) and The International Center have created a partnership along with Purdue University’s Krannert School of Management to promote the growth of small business by supplying export-ready businesses with the tools and professional expertise necessary to export their goods and services successfully at the international level through the Export Indiana Fellowship Program. Recognizing Indiana has a shortage of exporting consultants and experts to help entrepreneurs enter into international markets, the Export Indiana Fellowship Program was established in
Read more...

(INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – October 7, 2015) . . . Dr. John C. Lechleiter, Ph.D., chairman, president, and chief executive officer of Eli Lilly and Company, is recipient of the 2015 International Citizen of the Year award. Dr. Lechleiter was honored at a special dinner and ceremony on Oct. 6, 2015 at The Indiana Roof Ballroom. The award was presented by former International Citizen of the Year honoree Sidney Taurel, chairman emeritus, Eli Lilly and Company. This occasion marked the 30th anniversary of the International Citizen of the Year award, which was established in 1985 to honor individuals who have
Read more...

(Indianapolis, IN – August 18, 2015) . . . The International Center has received a $7,000 grant from the Nicholas H. Noyes, Jr., Memorial Foundation, Inc. to support The Center’s Flag Program. The Flag Program, comprised of all 193 flags of the United Nations, was formed in 2011 as a result of a community need for flags at multicultural events taking place in the greater Indianapolis area. The Center maintains the flag collection and provides them, along with the expertise and equipment necessary for appropriate display, to various community organizations hosting or participating in multicultural events within Marion Country
Read more...

(WASHINGTON, DC – June 11, 2015) . . . Indianapolis Sister Cities International (ISCI), directed by the Mayor’s Office of International and Cultural Affairs in partnership with The International Center, has won this year’s Innovation Award for Arts and Culture from the Sister Cities International’s (SCI) Annual Awards for a city with a population greater than 500,001. The Annual Awards Program, established in 1962, showcases the achievements of standout sister city programs and brings international recognition to communities’ contribution to citizen diplomacy. Sister Cities International recognized ISCI for its success with the 2014 Sister Cities Fest in Indianapolis, a
Read more...

(INDIANAPOLIS – May 21, 2015) . . . The International Center has received a $35,000 grant from the Indianapolis Foundation, an affiliate of the Central Indiana Community Foundation (CICF), which will support The Center’s Festival Fund. The Festival Fund serves internationally-focused organizations and their events in the greater Indianapolis area that enrich cultural life by celebrating cultural expression and encourage understanding and appreciation for different cultures. Sponsorship preference is provided to events promoting education about the nations that represent the residents of Central Indiana and that highlight the arts, cultures, foods and traditions of those nations. Qualifying community organizations
Read more...