College of Nursing Receives Higher Education Excellence in Diversity Award

CINCINNATI—The University of Cincinnati College of Nursing has received the 2015 Higher Education Excellence in Diversity (HEED) Award from INSIGHT Into Diversity magazine. 

As a recipient of the annual HEED Award — a national honor recognizing U.S. colleges and universities demonstrating an outstanding commitment to diversity and inclusion — the College of Nursing will be featured, along with 91 other recipients, in the November 2015 issue of the magazine. 

This is the first time the College of Nursing has received the award. It is the only nursing school among those being honored. The University of Cincinnati also was given the award this year.

"Our ultimate goal is to improve health care outcomes, reduce health disparities and increase the diversity of the health care workforce. As the only nursing college to receive this award, we are as committed as ever to leading the way in diversity and inclusion within nursing and health care education,” says Greer Glazer, RN, PhD, dean of the College of Nursing.

The College of Nursing supports a wide gamut of diversity and inclusion efforts. A Diversity Advisory Council within the college sponsors several events throughout the year providing awareness and a platform for discussion among college faculty, staff, students and alumni. In addition, the college’s pipeline diversification efforts are followed by such programs as Leadership 2.0 and HealthPath Summer Bridge, which are designed to support underrepresented individuals throughout their education. The college also recently received a significant federal grant to implement a comprehensive community partnership to increase diversity in the health care educational pipeline.

"The HEED Award process consists of a comprehensive and rigorous application that includes questions relating to the recruitment and retention of students and employees — and best practices for both — continued leadership support for diversity, and other aspects of campus diversity and inclusion. We take a holistic approach to reviewing each application in deciding who will be named a HEED Award recipient. 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.

INSIGHT Into Diversity magazine is the largest and oldest diversity publication in higher education today and is known for its annual HEED Award, the only award recognizing colleges and universities for outstanding diversity and inclusion efforts across their campuses. More information about the 2015 HEED Award can be found online at www.insightintodiversity.com.