UWF Receives Higher Education Excellence in Diversity Award

Sep. 15, 2015

The University of West Florida received the 2015 Higher Education Excellence in Diversity (HEED) Award from “INSIGHT Into Diversity” magazine, the oldest and largest diversity-focused publication in higher education. This is the first time UWF has received this honor. As a recipient of the annual HEED Award — a national honor recognizing U.S. colleges and universities that demonstrate an outstanding commitment to diversity and inclusion — UWF will be featured, along with 91 other recipients, in the November 2015 issue of “INSIGHT Into Diversity” magazine.

“This recognition tells us that we are indeed on the right track when it comes to our commitment to diversity and inclusion and our collaborative effort to achieve inclusive excellence,” said UWF Chief Diversity Officer and Associate Vice Provost Dr. Kim LeDuff.

“It is an honor to be recognized by the top magazine on diversity and higher education in the country alongside institutions who have been doing this work for decades. No doubt, there is still work to be done, but I think that we have much to be proud of as a community.”

INSIGHT Into Diversity magazine selected UWF as a result of its proven commitment. Since coming on board in 2013, LeDuff has established the Office of Equity, Diversity & International Affairs. She also worked with the President’s Council on Diversity & Inclusion to write the Diversity Plan for the University, whose community understands and is living out its motto of “Awareness, Acceptance, Respect.”

On-campus activities and programs representative of UWF’s commitment include:

• Monthly events highlighting diverse and multicultural communities
• Admitting the largest international population to UWF in 2015
• More UWF students participating in study abroad programs
• Very active student organizations dedicated to diverse issues and causes
• New Cross-Cultural Competency Certificate Program for faculty and staff
• The UWF MEN Program
• The Women’s Studies Collective
• Outreach to local schools and community partners

“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. We take a holistic 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 accomplished every day across a campus,” said Lenore Pearlstein, publisher of “INSIGHT Into Diversity” magazine.

Other recipients of the 2015 HEED Award are:

Alamo Colleges
Alliant International University
Anne Arundel Community College Arizona Summit Law School
Augsburg College
California State University, East Bay California State University, Fresno
California State University, San Marcos
Capital Community College
Case Western Reserve University
Central Washington University
City University of New York School of Law
Cleveland State University
College of Southern Maryland
Columbia University
Columbia University College of Dental Medicine
Community College of Philadelphia
Cornell University
Cuyahoga Community College
Davenport University
DePaul University
East Carolina University
Edinboro University
El Paso Community College
Estrella Mountain Community College
Florida Coastal School of Law
Florida State University
Framingham State University
Georgia Institute of Technology
Highline College
Houston Community College
Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
Indiana University Bloomington
Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis
Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine at Marshall University
Juniata College
Kansas State University
Kennesaw State University
Kent State University
Louisiana State University
Metropolitan State University of Denver
Millersville University
Moraine Valley Community College
Northern Virginia Community College
Oklahoma State University
Palo Alto University
Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine
Raritan Valley Community College
Rice University
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 College at Buffalo
SUNY System
Texas Tech University
The Pennsylvania State University
The University of Akron
The University of Texas at Austin
Union College New York
University of California, Los Angeles University of California, San Francisco
University of California, Santa Barbara
University of California, Santa Cruz
University of Cincinnati
University of Cincinnati College of Nursing
University of Florida College of Dentistry
University of Georgia
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
University of Louisville
University of Maryland, Baltimore
University of Maryland, College Park
University of Massachusetts Lowell
University of Memphis Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law
University of Michigan Ross School of Business
University of Minnesota, Twin Cities
University of Missouri-St. Louis
University of New Mexico
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
University of South Carolina
University of the Rockies
University of Toledo
University of Vermont
University of Virginia
University of Virginia School of Medicine
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
Western Michigan University