Union has been named a winner of a HEED Award by Insight Into Diversity magazine, the oldest and largest diversity-focused publication in higher education.
Each year, the magazine recognizes U.S. colleges and universities that demonstrate an outstanding commitment to diversity and inclusion.
HEED (Higher Education Excellence in Diversity) Award recipients were selected based on their institution’s ”exemplary diversity and inclusion initiatives, and ability to embrace a broad definition of diversity on their campuses, including gender, race, ethnicity, veterans, people with disabilities and members of the LGBT community.”
Union was one of 56 schools selected for the honor. The winners are featured in the magazine’s November issue.
Each winner was asked to provide a brief statement about what diversity means on their individual campuses.
“Union College promotes collective responsibility for diversity and celebrates a rich spectrum of identities, perspectives, and values. Key to Union’s success is an organizational structure that places the chief diversity officer as an active member of the president’s staff. This ensures that inclusiveness is part of the College’s strategic decision-making, collective dialogue, and an integral part of campus culture. Union has seen a seven percent increase in the diversity of its student body in less than six years.”
“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, co-publisher of Insight Into Diversity, along with Holly Mendelson.