Today, SUNY Old Westbury received the 2020 Higher Education Excellence in Diversity (HEED) Award from INSIGHT Into Diversity magazine, the oldest and largest diversity-focused publication in higher education. This marks the third consecutive year SUNY Old Westbury has been named as a HEED Award recipient.
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 — SUNY Old Westbury will be featured, along with 89 other recipients, in the November 2020 issue of INSIGHT Into Diversity magazine.
“We have enjoyed extraordinary recognitions from INSIGHT Into Diversity and other organizations in recent years reflecting our commitment to improving access, understanding, and engagement around diversity, equity and inclusion,” said Teresa Miller, SUNY Old Westbury officer-in-charge. “Earning the HEED award once again is a prideful moment for our campus and reflects well on the quality of our efforts and their effectiveness in serving our students.”
With nearly 60 percent students of color, SUNY Old Westbury is the most racially and ethnically diverse institution of higher education in the SUNY system and maintains its mission-based commitment to cultivating critical thinking, empathy, creativity and intercultural understanding among its students.
“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,” said Lenore Pearlstein, publisher of INSIGHT Into Diversity magazine. “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.”
For more information about the 2020 HEED Award, visit insightintodiversity.com.