Framingham State Honored for Efforts Around Diversity and Inclusion

Framingham State Honored for Efforts Around Diversity and Inclusion

Sep 15, 2015

2015 HEED Award

Framingham State University has again been recognized for its efforts to support diversity and inclusion on campus with a Higher Education Excellence in Diversity (HEED) Award.

The award is given by INSIGHT into Diversity, the oldest and largest diversity magazine and website in higher education today. Framingham State will be featured along with 92 other recipients in the magazine’s November 2015 issue.

“One of our Core Values at Framingham State is to encourage a supportive, diverse and collaborative environment in which we learn from each other through informed and open communication,” says FSU President Dr. F. Javier Cevallos. “We are honored to receive this national recognition from Insight into Diversity for our efforts support a diverse and inclusive campus.”

Framingham State University believes that striving for excellence in institutional diversity and inclusion efforts requires a high quality, comprehensive approach. The University hired Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer Sean Huddleston in January 2015 to lead the effort.

“Our model for Inclusive Excellence enables us to fully leverage the rich diversity found within our ranks of students, staff, faculty, alumni and community constituents,” Huddleston says. “With active participation at all levels on campus, we are confident that our commitment to excellence for all of our students will be achieved.”

Earlier this month, FSU celebrated the opening of its Center for Inclusive Excellence, which is dedicated to creating and supporting an environment that reflects a collective commitment to promoting equity, advocating social justice and making excellence inclusive.

The HEED award is the only national recognition honoring colleges and universities that exhibit outstanding efforts and success in the area of diversity and inclusion throughout their campuses.

“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.

For more information about the 2015 HEED award, visit www.insightintodiversity.com.

About Framingham State University

Framingham State University was founded in 1839 as the nation’s first public university for the education of teachers. Since that time, it has evolved into a vibrant, comprehensive liberal arts institution offering small, personalized classes on a beautiful New England campus. Today, the University enrolls more than 6,000 students with 58 undergraduate and graduate degree programs in the arts, humanities, sciences, social sciences and professional fields. As a State College and University (SCU), Framingham State prides itself on quality academic programs, affordability, and commitment to access for all qualified students.