Diversity and Inclusion Award (Est. 2020)

The Diversity and Inclusion Award is bestowed upon alumni by the University of Illinois Alumni Association on behalf of the University of Illinois. This award recognizes those alumni who have demonstrated a commitment to promoting diversity and inclusion through their professional and/or voluntary achievements and whose accomplishments support the UIAA’s goal of promoting diversity, cross-culturalism, open-mindedness and respect within the University of Illinois community and beyond. In alignment with our mission to foster a supportive environment for all members of our university community, this award is open to all eligible persons regardless of race, color, or national origin.

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  Tracy Campbell and Stephanie Campbell, '01 AHS and ’77 LAS

  Tracy Campbell, ’01 AHS, and Stephanie Campbell, ’77 LAS, are the founders of KiDsGyM USA (KGU) in College Park, Ga., a health and fitness nonprofit that puts physical-fitness principles for children and young people into practice through gymnastics and education programs. Since its inception in 1986, KGU has partnered with Metro Atlanta–area public schools and recreation centers to serve more than 100,000 children and youth, with 40 to 50 percent coming from marginalized, underserved and economically disadvantaged communities. The couple also trains physical education, pre-kindergarten and Head Start teachers on how to use KGU methodologies to help build healthy mental and physical lifestyles for children and teens.

  KGU’s signature program, the Power of Movement, uses gymnastics to strengthen the motor, cognitive and socio-emotional skills that young children need to be school-ready, while its Flippin’ For Life program is an early intervention and prevention youth-development initiative designed to get youth and teens moving to build their confidence and self-esteem. In the late 1980s, KGU additionally formed TOPGUN Tumblers, a male teen exhibition team that became recognized as one of the nation’s most outstanding youth performance groups. The TOPGUN Tumblers have appeared at special sporting events for the NBA, NCAA and NFL, as well as performing at Walt Disney World, the White House and the 1996 Olympic Games. The original TOPGUN Tumblers have since evolved into the Air Elite Dunkers, presenting slam-dunk exhibitions around the world, including innumerable NBA and NCAA halftime performances.

  Tracy Campbell trained with former U. of I. Men’s Gymnastics Head Coach Yoshi Hayasaki and his wife, Beverly, MS ’73 AHS, and later worked with the late Stafford L. Hood, PHD ’84 ED, and his Center for Culturally Responsive Evaluation and Assessment to develop KGU’s evidence-based curriculum. As leaders in innovative physical-education programming for preschool and school-age youth, the couple has received many unique opportunities. From 1995 to 2003, Stephanie Campbell served as executive director of the Atlanta chapter of Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Greater Atlanta Inner City Games, while Tracy Campbell was appointed to Georgia Gov. Roy Barnes’ Workforce Investment board from 1999 to 2005.

  Among its many awards, KGU was appointed by President George H.W. Bush in 1991 as the 506th Daily Point of Light for the Nation. KGU received the Tuskegee Airmen P-51 “Red Tail” Youth Development Award in 1992, and in 1993, Pres. Bill Clinton presented the organization with the President’s Volunteer Action Award. In 1991, the Campbells received a Certificate of Appreciation from the Drug Enforcement Administration and the U.S. Dept. of Justice for “outstanding contributions in the field of drug-demand reduction.” The couple also received the Nonprofit Trinity Award for Amateur Sports in 2019, and in 2025, KGU received the “Good Troublemaker” Neighborhood grant from the John and Lillian Lewis Foundation.

• 2020s