Dr. Richard Lapchick and DeVos Sport Business Management Program at UCF 

I am always proud of our DeVos students but never more so than when they approached me in the Spring of 2017 to create the Rainbow CommUNITY Run. I am not from the running community and know little about running, but they assured me that they could pull it off to benefit the onePULSE Foundation and the Zebra Coalition. I watched as they worked hard during the semester and was nervous when 10 days before the race we had less than 250 runners registered. Track Shack and its leaders had been incredibly helpful and assured me most runners signed up near the date of the event. Sure enough, 850 runners came on that glorious day.

I was so happy when the onePULSE Foundation asked us to do it again in 2018. The students staged the event from start to finish and more than 2,200 runners came. Nearly $100,000 was raised for the onePULSE Foundation in 2018. The students again staged the event from start to finish in 2019 and more than 3,300 runners came. It grossed over $200,000 for the onePULSE Foundation. In 2020, 2021, and 2023, the event grossed $80,000, $128,000, and $124,000 respectively. 

I have been in Higher Education for 50 years and my students have done amazing things over those years, especially since I came to UCF. Over the years we have completed countless industry projects for various organizations and leagues, but what I am most proud of is that we have spent 55 weeks rebuilding homes in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. We have worked on 150 homes in New Orleans. We went to Tuscaloosa after the tornadoes. We went to New York after Hurricane Sandy and Houston after Hurricane Harvey. All these experiences were so moving. But when I was asked recently in an exit interview with a recent graduate "What do I remember most since I came to UCF" it was the student-based creation of the Rainbow CommUNITY Run to help the onePULSE Foundation achieve its goals. As a board member and as Chair of the DeVos Program I can’t think of anything better than these two programs working closely together.

Barbara Poma is one of my heroes. We will do anything we can to help her and the Board reach their goals and serve the community that is PULSE.  We live in a time when hate seems so virulent and spreads so fast.  We cannot let hate win.

Richard E. Lapchick is the Director of The Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport (TIDES) in the DeVos Sport Business Management Graduate Program in the College of Business Administration at the University of Central Florida. Lapchick   is the author of 17 books and the annual racial and gender report card and is the President of the Institute for Sport and Social Justice. He is a regular commentator for ESPN.com on issues of diversity in sport. Follow him on Twitter @richardlapchick and on Facebook at facebook.com/richard.lapchick.Richard E. Lapchick is the Director of The Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport (TIDES) in the DeVos Sport Business Management Graduate Program in the College of Business Administration at the University of Central Florida. Lapchick   is the author of 17 books and the annual racial and gender report card and is the President of the Institute for Sport and Social Justice. He is a regular commentator for ESPN.com on issues of diversity in sport. Follow him on Twitter @richardlapchick and on Facebook at facebook.com/richard.lapchick.