Case Western Reserve University received the 2019 Higher Education Excellence in Diversity (HEED) Award from INSIGHT Into Diversity magazine, a diversity-focused publication in higher education.
As a recipient of the annual HEED Award—a national honor recognizing colleges and universities around the country that demonstrate an outstanding commitment to diversity and inclusion—Case Western Reserve will be featured, along with 92 other recipients, in the November 2019 issue of INSIGHT Into Diversity magazine.
This is the eighth straight year the university has received a HEED Award.
“We are excited and honored to once again be recognized by INSIGHT Into Diversity for our diversity efforts,” said Joy Bostic, the university’s interim vice president in the Office for Inclusion, Diversity and Equal Opportunity. “Many throughout the campus community have embraced the university’s inclusion and diversity goals and this award is the result of hard work and commitment by students, staff and faculty working to make CWRU a more welcoming and inclusive campus. Of course, there is more work to be done, but this award encourages us to pause, recognize what we have accomplished and take pride in our successes.”
CWRU has received the national award every year since the honor was established in 2012. To be considered for the award, institutions complete an extensive application and summarize their diversity and inclusion initiatives. This year’s CWRU application highlighted:
- Somos CWRU—a newly created pilot program aimed at developing a recruitment and retention strategy for the Latinx population.
- Diversity Resource Forum—held for the first time last fall. The forum highlights resources and services across campus involved in diversity, inclusion and equity work.
- Mentor Circles & Mentor Fellows—the initiative works to increase knowledge and understanding of mentoring underrepresented students.
- Sustained Dialogue program—the university’s award-winning diversity initiative for students, staff and faculty. The program promotes cross-cultural interaction and provides an opportunity for participants to make recommendations to the administration on ways to improve the campus climate.
- Rooney Rule-like policies that require a diverse applicant pool for faculty and top administrative positions.
- The CWRU Trailblazer Project—a portraiture initiative that annually showcases the contributions of CWRU alumni of color and women and helps to diversify the images that appear in campus common areas.
- African and African American Studies Minor—established in 2018, the program provides an opportunity for students to explore the global black experience and its relationship to black life in the Americas.
“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. “We take a detailed 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 done every day across their campus.”