Stony Brook University received the 2018 Higher Education Excellence in Diversity (HEED) Award — a national honor recognizing U.S. colleges and universities that demonstrate an outstanding commitment to diversity and inclusion — from INSIGHT Into Diversity magazine on September 15.
Stony Brook University will be among the 96 winners of the HEED Award featured in the November 2018 issue of INSIGHT Into Diversity magazine, the oldest and largest diversity-focused publication in higher education.
“It is gratifying to be recognized for our efforts to impact diversity across Stony Brook University’s students, faculty and staff,” Stony Brook University President Samuel L. Stanley said. “We have been working diligently to improve the diversity of the Stony Brook community through enhanced recruitment and retention, through new grants, expanding educational research, healthcare and other strategic initiatives to ensure all our students have the resources they need to thrive.”
“This is the first time Stony Brook has received the prestigious HEED award and we are honored to be a recipient this year,” said Chief Diversity Officer Lee Bitsóí. “Moreover, receiving this award recognizes the collective efforts of our students, faculty and staff to build an even more diverse, equitable and inclusive environment at Stony Brook.”
Stony Brook University focused its efforts on implementing a new plan for equity, inclusion and diversity across the campus starting in 2016 to enhance the student, faculty and staff diversity as well as build an inclusive community for all, regardless of ethnicity, age, gender, religion, ability, veteran status, socioeconomic level and sexual orientation.
The goal of the plan is threefold: to increase student awareness on issues surrounding diversity, to raise faculty awareness and training, and foster partnerships that open multicultural dialogues. Last fall, new workshops dealing with issues of diversity, inclusion, gender-awareness and equity that were taught to more than 4,500 new students as well as a six-hour training for staff and faculty to understand the diverse cultures that make up the Stony Brook community.
“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,” said Lenore Pearlstein, publisher of INSIGHT Into Diversity magazine. “We selected Stony Brook University as a 2018 HEED Award winner because of their outstanding commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion across their campus. They accomplished this through leadership support, specific programs and initiatives for students, faculty, staff and other constituents across campus.”
The HEED Award marked the second time this year that Stony Brook was honored by INSIGHT. In August, the Stony Brook University Women in Science and Engineering (WISE) Program was one of 78 winners of INSIGHT Into Diversity magazine’s Inspiring Programs in STEM Award.
The Inspiring Programs in STEM Award honors colleges and universities that encourage and assist students from underrepresented groups to enter the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). The winners were featured in the September 2018 issue of INSIGHT.
Inspiring Programs in STEM Award winners were selected based on efforts to inspire and encourage a new generation of young people to consider careers in STEM through mentoring, teaching, research, and successful programs and initiatives.
For more information about the HEED Award and the Inspiring Programs in STEM Award, visit insightintodiversity.com.
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