The University of Vermont has been recognized with a 2014 Higher Education Excellence in Diversity (HEED) award by INSIGHT Into Diversity magazine, the oldest and largest diversity-focused publication in higher education. As a recipient of the annual HEED Award – a national honor that recognizes U.S. colleges and universities that demonstrate an outstanding commitment to diversity and inclusion – the University of Vermont will be featured along with 82 other recipients in INSIGHT Into Diversity magazine’s November 2014 issue.
“I am honored that the University of Vermont is being recognized for our more than two decades of engagement in strategic diversity work,” says Wanda Heading-Grant, vice president for Human Resources, Diversity and Multicultural Affairs. “Our success is made possible through the support of our many campus partners and institutional leadership.”
INSIGHT Into Diversity magazine selected UVM based on its exemplary diversity and inclusion initiatives and ability to embrace a broad definition of diversity on its campus, including gender, race, ethnicity, veterans, people with disabilities and members of the LGBT community as well as all other identities.
A number of the UVM initiatives and events recognized by INSIGHT Into Diversity are generated by the UVM College of Medicine, including the College’s Statement on Diversity & Inclusion and establishment of the Office of Diversity and Inclusion; Dean's Advisory Committee on Diversity & Inclusion; Vermont Integrated Curriculum’s diversity and health equity content; admissions application; hiring practices; faculty and staff training; demographic survey; summer research outreach programs for undergraduate minority students; “Health Equity Film Series”; Annual Family Medicine Diversity in Healthcare Conference; among other efforts.
“Through collaborations across our academic medical center and the greater UVM community, the College of Medicine Office of Diversity & Inclusion is working hard to foster and maintain diversity, equity and inclusion in all aspects of our mission to provide culturally competent medical education, discovery and patient care,” says Margaret Tandoh, M.D., associate dean for diversity and inclusion and assistant professor of surgery. “This award provides recognition for that collaborative work, which is helping cultural transformation take place at UVM.”
“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.
Link to a list of 2014 HEED Award recipients here.