Naomi Osborne

Distinguished Alumni Naomi Osborne, Class of 1928

Born in Richmond on January 12, 1910, “Nonee” graduated from Morton High School in 1928. She received her A. B. in English and M. A. in Journalism in 1931 and 1932 respectively from Indiana University.

After gaining her degrees, she moved to Washington D.C., and New York where she worked for publications and edited textbooks.  She accepted a job at the Office of Price Administration in Washington D.C., while working on her doctorate degree in Philosophy in International Affairs. She also had the opportunity to hear President Roosevelt speak on the idea of an international organization that later became the United Nations.

In 1946 she took a position at the newly formed United Nations while finishing her doctoral work.  She later worked for the United Nations all over the world in leadership positions, including working in the Gaza Strip in the 1960s.

She was appointed director of the United Nations office in the Belgian, Congo, during the revolution in 1961.  She worked in the Philippines in 1968 and then went to Jamaica and Trinidad becoming the Director of the United Nations Information Center for the Caribbean, Surinam, and Guyana.  She retired from the United Nations in 1971.

Dr. Osborne returned to Richmond and became the Director of University Relations for Indiana University East from 1971-1976. She is credited with the growth of Indiana University East during its formative years.

Her passion, besides her work, was collecting art. Osborne followed her older sister, Martha, to the Richmond Art Museum, where Martha worked and developed a love of art. Miss Osborn died November 6, 2006, in Richmond at the age of 95.  She established a scholarship in her name at Indiana University East for artistic accomplishments.

Naomi Osborne was award the Richmond High School Distinguished Alumnus designation in 1995.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  380 Hub Etchison Parkway, Richmond, IN 47374

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