UC News

National Publication Honors UC with Diversity Award

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4 minute read September 15, 2015

A leading diversity-focused publication has chosen the University of Cincinnati to be among a select group of institutions nationwide receiving special recognition for diversity and inclusion efforts.

INSIGHT Into Diversity magazine, one of the largest and oldest publications of its kind in higher education,

selected UC as a winner of the Higher Education Excellence in Diversity (HEED) Award

. This honor – the only national designation of its kind – acknowledges U.S. colleges and universities that demonstrate an outstanding commitment to diversity and inclusion. UC has received the honor in previous years, including last year.

UC will be featured, along with 91 other recipients, in the November 2015 issue of INSIGHT Into Diversity.

“We are humbled and proud to receive the Higher Education Excellence in Diversity Award by INSIGHT Into Diversity magazine,” says Bleuzette Marshall, UC’s chief diversity officer. “This recognition validates the efforts of numerous individuals across the university who work tirelessly to make the institution more welcoming and inclusive.”

Among achievements highlighted in materials submitted to INSIGHT Into Diversity were:

Turner Fall Social, Dr Bleuzette Marshall.

Bleuzette Marshall

  • Services offered for students/employees with disabilities

  • Third annual Supplier Diversity Networking Session

  • UC’s Diversity Incentive Grants

  • Diversity & Inclusion (D&I) resource liaisons for each college/unit working on at least one D&I initiative

  • African American Alumni Affiliate partnership with the Office of Admissions to recruit prospective underrepresented students

  • Presidential performance evaluations that incorporate D&I goals and accomplishments for his direct reports

  • Safe Zone and Trans* 101 training

  • UC trustee involvement in diversity efforts

    • UC embraces diversity and inclusion

    as core values that empower individuals to transform their lives and achieve their highest potential. The university offers a challenging, yet nurturing intellectual climate with a respect for the spectrum of diversity and a genuine understanding of its many components – including race; ethnicity; gender; gender identity and expression; age; socio-economic status; family structure; national origin; sexual orientation; disability; and religion – that enrich UC as a vibrant, public, urban research university for the 21st century.

    “We realize building a diverse, inclusive and dynamic environment is a journey and not a sprint. We remain on the path of continuous improvement through learning and innovation – being intentional in our actions, solutions-oriented in our endeavors and practicing inclusive excellence to transform the university and the communities we serve,” Marshall says.

    The HEED Award process consists of a comprehensive and rigorous application that includes questions relating to the recruitment and retention of students and employees; continued leadership support for diversity; and other aspects of campus diversity and inclusion.

    "Our standards are high, and we look for institutions where diversity and inclusion are woven into the work being accomplished every day across a campus,” says Lenore Pearlstein, publisher of INSIGHT Into Diversity magazine.

    For more information about the HEED award, go to INSIGHT Into Diversity magazine’s website at

    www.insightintodiversity.com

    .

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