Claire Fiddian-Green is the President & CEO of the Richard M. Fairbanks Foundation. In Indianapolis, tobacco retail outlets are concentrated in areas with high poverty, low levels of education, and high levels of poor mental health. These are also the areas where smoking rates are higher, on average and among pregnant women specifically. These are the key findings from a report issued yesterday by The Polis Center at IUPUI entitled: “Unequal Access: Tobacco Retail in the Indianapolis Metro Area.” This is troubling news for a city where the adult smoking rate – at about 21% – is already well above the national average. Statewide, there are additional indicators of concern […]

Claire Fiddian-Green is the President & CEO of the Richard M. Fairbanks Foundation. A well-educated population is critical to the vitality of Indianapolis and the continued competitiveness of our state. Unfortunately, too many students graduate from high school unprepared for college or careers. For example, according to the latest report from Indiana’s Commission for Higher Education, 18 percent of students who graduated from high school in Marion County required remediation in math and/or English/language arts upon enrollment in a public college. To help address this challenge, in November 2015 the Richard M. Fairbanks Foundation established new funding priorities, one of which is to improve academic outcomes for Indianapolis students. Being […]