Metropolitan State University of Denver has been selected as a 2022 Insight Into Diversity Higher Education Excellence in Diversity Award recipient. This marks the University’s ninth consecutive honor from Insight Into Diversity, the oldest and largest diversity-focused publication in higher education.
The award comes as the University celebrates National Hispanic-Serving Institutions Week and is preparing to kick off Latinx Heritage Month festivities Thursday. Over the past several years, the University has also:
- Engaged stakeholders in the Campus Climate Survey.
- Published the 2020-21 Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Report. The 2021-22 report will be available this month.
- Invested in Diversity Initiative Grants.
- Established the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Council.
- Welcomed education and inclusion thought leaders to campus through the Rachel B. Noel Distinguished Visiting Professorship program, the Richard T. and Virginia M. Castro Distinguished Visiting Professorship, the Martin Luther King Jr. Peace Breakfast and the Higher Education Diversity Summit.
- Established the Tenure Track Supper Club, which utilizes mentorship as a tool in the retention of minority faculty members.
- Supported students through the Dreamer Emergency Fund.
Learn more about MSU Denver’s many diversity and inclusion efforts, including those undertaken by the Board of Trustees.
The award, open to all colleges and universities across the U.S. and Canada, measures an institution’s level of achievement in and intensity of commitment to broadening diversity and inclusion on campus through initiatives, programs and outreach; student recruitment, retention and completion; and hiring practices for faculty and staff.
MSU Denver’s Office of Diversity and Inclusion spearheads submission of this comprehensive application, collecting information on DEI efforts across the University. The office says honors such as the HEED Award and the Outstanding Member Institution award from the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities reflect MSU Denver’s values and commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion.
The Office of Diversity and Inclusion encourages members of the campus community to send information and photos about their DEI work for future applications here.
“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 — leadership support for diversity, campus culture and climate, supplier diversity, and many other aspects of campus diversity and inclusion,” said Lenore Pearlstein, publisher of Insight Into Diversity magazine, in a statement. “We take a detailed 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 done every day across their campus.”
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 — MSU Denver will be featured, along with 103 other recipients, in the magazine’s November issue.