A-State Receives INSIGHT Into Diversity HEED Award for Sixth Straight Year
JONESBORO – INSIGHT Into Diversity magazine has announced the 109 institutions of higher education who it selected as recipients of its 2023 Higher Education Excellence in Diversity (HEED) Award, including Arkansas State University.
“It is a great honor for A-State to receive this award for the sixth consecutive year,” said Dr. Lonnie R. Williams, vice chancellor for the Division of Diversity, Inclusion and Community Engagement. “Although it is not a competition against other institutions, only against yourself, the list of awardees includes some big-name schools and A-State is there in the mix.”
The HEED Awards and the Health Professions HEED Awards are the only national honors recognizing U.S. colleges and universities that demonstrate an outstanding commitment to creating a diverse and inclusive campus environment.
The honorees will be featured in the November/December 2023 issue of INSIGHT Into Diversity, the nation’s largest and oldest publication dedicated to DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion) in higher education.
“This is a measure of an institution’s programs and resources compared to a specific set of criteria judged by INSIGHT Into Diversity to be critical aspects of diversity and inclusion,” Williams also said.
“We should take pride in having a nationally recognized outside source certify our efforts, that we are moving in the right direction in getting things done,” he continued, “with programs such as INSPIRE (extended one-week orientation program for first-year students of color), our nationally awarded ‘Diversifying Our Curing Community’ program for students who want to become medical doctors, and other programs and services that make A-State a welcoming and thriving campus for all.”
The HEED Award selection process is rigorous, assessing the recruitment and retention of students and faculty, pathway programs, community partnerships, leadership support for DEI initiatives, and a comprehensive list of other considerations, according to Lenore Pearlstein, publisher of the magazine.
“The winning institutions consistently demonstrate best practices and set the standards for other colleges and universities,” she emphasized.
More details and a list of the award-winning institutions are available online.
