For the sixth straight year, Case Western Reserve University received a national award that recognizes institutions for their commitment to diversity and inclusion and implementing comprehensive diversity initiatives across campus.
Case Western Reserve received the 2017 Higher Education Excellence in Diversity (HEED) Award from INSIGHT Into Diversity magazine, among the oldest and largest diversity-focused publications in higher education.
As a recipient of the annual HEED Award, CWRU will be featured with 79 other recipients in the November 2017 issue of INSIGHT Into Diversity magazine.
“Being recognized for our work a sixth year in a row is quite an honor,” said Marilyn Sanders Mobley, the university’s vice president for Inclusion, Diversity and Equal Opportunity. “But more than that, it’s a testimony to the collective efforts of our students, faculty and staff to act on our commitment to diversity and inclusion as core values at CWRU.”
Case Western Reserve has received the national diversity award annually since HEED was established in 2012. To be considered, institutions were required to complete an extensive application and summarize their diversity and inclusion initiatives that impact students, staff and faculty.
“We take a holistic approach to reviewing each application in deciding who will be named a HEED Award recipient,” said Lenore Pearlstein, publisher of INSIGHT Into Diversity. “Our standards are high, and we look for institutions where diversity and inclusion are woven into the work being accomplished every day across their campus.”
CWRU’s application highlighted several initiatives, including Diversity 360, the campuswide, comprehensive, diversity education program that provides information about the importance of diversity and inclusion and covers such topics as privilege, implicit bias and microaggression.
Since 2011, the Office for Inclusion, Diversity and Equal Opportunity (OIDEO) has conducted the Train the Champion program designed to help faculty and staff learn how to be leaders in creating a more welcoming and inclusive campus environment. OIDEO also provides diversity awareness workshops and consultation services for students, faculty and staff.
The university’s HEED application also highlighted diversity-related student recruitment and student-service initiatives implemented by various CWRU schools and departments.