Topics: Awards, Administrative, Inclusive Excellence
September 2, 2016
Ball State University has been honored by “Insight Into Diversity” magazine with a 2016 Higher Education Excellence in Diversity Award for its commitment to diversity and inclusion.
As a result of the annual award — a national honor recognizing U.S. colleges and universities — Ball State will be featured, along with 82 other recipients, in the magazine’s November issue. The publication is higher education’s oldest and largest diversity-focused publication.
The award recognizes Ball State’s long-standing commitment to diversity and inclusion as well as its recent efforts to integrate such programs on a campuswide basis, said Charlene Alexander, associate provost for diversity and director of the Office of Institutional Diversity.
“We were able to demonstrate that, at Ball State, diversity is not delegated to one area but rather everyone shares in the responsibility of promoting and achieving a diverse student, faculty and staff body and creating a culture where everyone feels welcomed and valued,” she said. “This award demonstrates our continued efforts and commitment, and we look forward to future recognition of our efforts.”
Alexander said Ball State’s commitment is demonstrated in the university’s diversity and inclusion statement and a web-based process for bias reporting. Other initiatives include efforts by the Council on Diversity and Inclusion, the University Diversity Committee and the Gender Equity Task Force.
The award also recognizes the university’s initiatives in several other areas, including student, faculty and staff recruitment and retention efforts, community outreach, pre-college programs and holistic admissions process.
Ball State also is a partner institution with the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities, an institutional member of the Southern Regional Education Board and uses diverse outlets to announce and promote employment opportunities.
By Marc Ransford, Senior Communications Strategist