Cornell's Muslim chaplain, Numan Dugmeoglu, and the Diwan Center for Muslim Life received the 29th annual James A. Perkins Prize for Interracial and Intercultural Peace and Harmony during a ceremony April 21 at Willard Straight Hall.
Each year, the $5,000 Perkins Prize is awarded to a Cornell program, organization or event making the most significant contribution to furthering the ideal of university community while respecting values of diversity.
Dugmeoglu has brought stability and increased visibility to Cornell's Muslim community of at least 1,000 students, faculty and staff, said Marla Love, the Robert W. and Elizabeth C. Staley Dean of Students.
"When he arrived on campus in November 2023, he joined a community in transition," Love said. "And he has since shown his ability to support, guide and create a strong foundation to bring that community together."
When Dugmeoglu began his chaplaincy at Cornell, the position had been vacant for more than a year. Since then, he has worked with university leaders to help students advocate for a new and improved center for Muslim Life in Anabel Taylor Hall including new prayer rooms, a community lounge and spaces for spiritual care and community groups.
He also consistently consults with Cornell Dining to improve and expand halal food options for Muslim students, particularly during Ramadan. And he hosts two weekly religious discussions, including a book club that focuses on critical topics and issues facing the Muslim community. Attendance at weekly Friday prayers has more than doubled since last year.
Thomas W. Jones '69, MRP '72, Presidential Councillor and Trustee Emeritus, addresses attendees during the 29th annual James A. Perkins Prize for Interracial and Intercultural Peace and Harmony during a ceremony at Willard Straight Hall on April 21.
Students from the Diwan Center attended the ceremony and Dugmeoglu accepted the award on behalf of the group.
"Building bridges across identities is not always easy," Dugmeoglu said. "It requires deep listening, honest self-reflection and a commitment to showing up, even when the conversations are hard.
"But in those spaces, I have seen something beautiful: students who lean into discomfort with courage, who seek not only to understand others but to transform themselves."
Cornell Trustee Emeritus Thomas W. Jones '69, MRP '72, who endowed the Perkins Prize in 1994 in honor of former President James A. Perkins, attended the event. President Michael I. Kotlikoff praised Jone's personal history, career and generosity. Jones, as a student, was part of a 36-hour student takeover of Willard Straight Hall in April 1969.
"A signature part of his career has been his ability to bridge many different worlds," Kotlikoff said. "That understanding, that empathy, that trait of listening and persuading rather than coercing, is something that Tom Jones embodies."
Jones spoke about his experience in the takeover, and said celebrating cultural progress is just as essential as calling out injustice.
"What's most important isn't our shortcomings," Jones said. "But that, both individually and collectively as a society, we are still striving to be better tomorrow than we are today."
The Perkins Prize honorable mention, worth $500, was awarded to two groups: Cornell University Diversity Admissions Ambassadors (CUDAA) and Cornell University Emergency Medical Service (CUEMS.)
CUDAA is made up of 62 students who partner and collaborate with staff in Cornell Admissions to describe the Cornell or college student experience to prospective students, especially those in historically underrepresented communities.
CUEMS is a New York State registered first response emergency medical service made up of 73 students who provides emergency medical care, free of charge, to all students, faculty, staff and visitors of the Ithaca campus. Because of its inclusive hiring and training practices, CUEMS is one of the most diverse collegiate EMS agencies nationwide, which directly enhances the quality of care they provide. Members are trained to recognize medical signs that present differently across various ethnicities, ensuring culturally competent care. CUEMS students often work as liaisons between students in medical crises and CUPD, often offering valuable insight to the Community Response Team.
"Unity is not accomplished through uniformity, in the absence of difference, but rather through the wholehearted embracing of diversity," Dugmeoglu said. "We need not all be the same to stand together. In fact, our differences are exactly what we need to bring to life the mosaic-like tapestry of our shared community here on campus."
Laura Gallup is a communications lead for Student and Campus Life.
