Campus Connection

For the second year in a row UW-La Crosse has received a national award honoring colleges and universities that demonstrate an outstanding commitment to diversity and inclusion. Today UW-L received the Higher Education Excellence in Diversity (HEED) award from INSIGHT Into Diversity magazine, the oldest and largest diversity-focused publication in higher education. UW-L is the only Wisconsin higher education institution to receive the award. As a recipient of the annual HEED award, UW-L will be featured along with 82 other recipients in INSIGHT Into Diversity magazine’s November 2014 issue. UW-L was featured in the November 2013 issue as well. “Receiving this national award for the second year in a row is really a strong external validation of the strength of our diversity and inclusion efforts here at UW-L,” notes Barbara Stewart, UW-L associate dean for Diversity and Inclusion. “I think our success is largely because of the wide-spread campus involvement and support surrounding diversity and inclusion.” An example of that support came after UW-L’s Campus Climate and Diversity office sent out a campus-wide survey gauging the university’s climate on topics from LGBT to disability issues in February 2013. When the results came back, 140 people from across campus signed up to be part of teams to develop action plans related to the results. One result to come out of the survey and subsequent teamwork was a new position this fall, the UW-L assistant director for Disability Resource Services. INSIGHT Into Diversity magazine selected UW-L based on exemplary diversity and inclusion initiatives. Evaluators also noted its ability to embrace a broad definition of diversity on campus, including gender, race, ethnicity, veterans, people with disabilities, members of the LGBT community, as well as all others. “We hope the HEED award serves as a way to honor those institutions of higher education that recognize the importance of diversity and inclusion as part of their everyday campus culture,” said Lenore Pearlstein, publisher of INSIGHT Into Diversity magazine. About INSIGHT Into Diversity INSIGHT Into Diversity, celebrating its 40th year in 2014, is the largest and oldest diversity publication in higher education today. Known for its annual Higher Education Excellence in Diversity (HEED) Award, this is the only award recognizing colleges and universities for outstanding diversity and inclusion efforts across campuses. For more information about the 2014 HEED award, visit www.insightintodiversity.com.

Other recipients of the 2014 HEED award are:

Alliant International University California State University San Marcos California State University, Fresno California State University, East Bay Capital Community College Case Western Reserve University Central Michigan University Central Washington University City University of New York School of Law Cleveland State University Columbia University College of Dental Medicine Community College of Allegheny County Cornell University Cuyahoga Community College Davenport University DePaul University East Carolina University Edinboro University of Pennsylvania El Paso Community College Elon University Florida State University Framingham State University Georgia Institute of Technology Georgia Regents University Georgia State University Grand Valley State University Greenville Technical College Grossmont-Cuyamaca Community College District Highline College Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis Kansas State University Kent State University Louisiana State University Metropolitan State University of Denver Michigan Technological University Millersville University Missouri State University Montana State University Moraine Valley Community College North Carolina State University Northern Virginia Community College Oklahoma State University Palo Alto University Quinnipiac University Raritan Valley Community College Rochester Institute of Technology San Diego State University School of the Art Institute of Chicago Seminole State College of Florida Southern Illinois University Carbondale Southern Illinois University Edwardsville Southwestern Law School St. Cloud State University SUNY Buffalo State College SUNY Downstate Medical Center SUNY Oneonta SUNY System Texas Tech University The Pennsylvania State University Union College New York University of Akron University of California, San Francisco University of California, Santa Barbara University of Cincinnati University of Colorado at Boulder University of Georgia University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign University of Illinois at Chicago University of Louisville University of Minnesota, Twin Cities University of Missouri-St. Louis University of North Florida University of South Carolina University of the Rockies University of Texas at Austin University of Toledo University of Vermont University of Virginia Virginia Tech Western Michigan University William Marsh Rice University