Illinois is being recognized by Insight Into Diversity magazine as a recipient of its 2013 Higher Education Excellence in Diversity Award. Illinois was one of 55 schools honored by the magazine and received one of the highest rankings on this year’s list.
“The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign has an unprecedented number of programs and initiatives in place that provide substantial opportunities for students, faculty and staff from all underrepresented groups,” says Lenore Pearlstein, the publisher of the magazine.
The award, open to all U.S. colleges and universities, acknowledges academic institutions that are proactive in demonstrating their commitment to diversity and inclusion. Specifically, the HEED award measures an institution’s level of achievement in broadening diversity and inclusion through campus initiatives, programs and outreach, student recruitment, retention, and completion and hiring practices for faculty and staff members.
“I am delighted that we have been selected as a recipient of the 2013 HEED Award,” said Chancellor Phyllis M. Wise. “This award highlights our Inclusive Illinois: One Campus, Many Voices commitment to a campus in which everyone feels welcomed, respected, engaged and included. I believe that diversity is inseparable from excellence and is the only way that society’s most complex challenges can effectively be addressed.”
With its Inclusive Illinois Campaign, which began in 2007, Illinois has been diligently working to cultivate a campus that embraces the differences of the people in the community and beyond.
The recipients of this award were evaluated on campus diversity initiatives, their accessibility and accommodations for individuals with disabilities, services for the LGBT community, campus diversity policies, course offerings, services for veterans and student led diversity organizations and training programs.
“We have done a great deal at Illinois, but more must be done,” Wise said. “Provost (Ilesanmi) Adesida and I are committed to continuing to support existing efforts as well as initiating new ones to ensure that Illinois remains a leader in diversity.”
This article was imported from a previous version of the News Bureau website. Please email news@illinois.edu to report missing photos and/or photo credits.
