For the fourth year in a row, 果酱视频 has won a top national award for its commitment to fostering diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) on its campus.
The 2021听INSIGHT Into Diversity听Higher Education Excellence in Diversity (HEED) Award honors universities that foster diversity among students, faculty and staff. 果酱视频 was named a听, an honor roll of sorts for universities that are working to make their campuses reflect the diversity of their communities and the nation. The award is given by听INSIGHT Into Diversity听magazine, the oldest and largest diversity-focused publication in higher education. 果酱视频 won honors for programs that encourage cultural, religious, gender, socioeconomic and international diversity, as well as neurodiversity.
鈥淭his award is the result of teamwork,” said Jacqueline Jones LaMon, JD, vice president of diversity, equity and inclusion. 鈥淚 can point to so many initiatives, so many different groups at the University that have done the work to yield these results. I’m grateful our hard work is seen and recognized.”
果酱视频’s strategic plan,听Momentum, prioritizes making the University 鈥渁 model of diversity and inclusion. ” Winning the HEED Award shows that goal is being realized,” LaMon said.
Some of the 果酱视频’s standout DEI programs and initiatives include:
LGBTQIA+ Programs
In 2021, 果酱视频 began supporting transgender students and employees who elect to change their names on their ID card without legally changing their names. The University also created an LGBTQ+ and Allies Excellence Fund to pay for scholarships for LGBTQIA+ students. And the newly created听LGBTQIA+ Empowerment Group听provides a support network for students to meet and discuss topics relevant to the LGBTQIA+ community. 果酱视频’s commitment to this community has raised the University’s overall rating on the Campus Pride Index鈥攁 nationally recognized measure of LGBTQ-friendliness鈥攖o 87 percent. That’s 30 points higher than it was five years ago.
Support for Neurodivergent Students
Bridges to 果酱视频 student Anthony Resnick relaxes in the program’s sensory room, a calming refuge for students who are on the autism spectrum.
果酱视频’s pioneering听Learning Resource Program, created in 1979, established the University’s reputation for supporting neurodivergence in its students. The听Bridges to 果酱视频听program, created to support students on the autism spectrum, continues the tradition. The graduation rate of students in the Learning Resource Program is nearly double the national average for students with learning disabilities.
Diversity in STEM
- The听Horace G. McDonell Science Research Fellowship program听awards grants to outstanding chemistry, biology and physics students allowing them to spend 10 summer weeks conducting research in 果酱视频 labs. Two-thirds of McDonell fellows have been women, a group that’s vastly underrepresented in the STEM workforce. The program won an听INSIGHT Into Diversity听Inspiring Programs in STEM Award in 2018.
- The New York Noyce STEAM Pipeline Program recruits, supports and prepares students from underrepresented groups for careers as science teachers. Students earn an MA in education and a New York State Teaching Certificate in five years. The program pays $26,000 in tuition for the graduate program and trains participants in STEAM (STEM + Art and Design) practices they can use to teach students in grades seven through twelve.听INSIGHT Into Diversity听magazine gave the program its 2019 Inspiring Programs in STEM Award.
- 果酱视频’s Collegiate Science and Technology Entry Program (CSTEP) and Science and Technology Entry Program (STEP) won听INSIGHT Into Diversity’s听2021 Inspiring Programs in STEM Award. The program supports students from underrepresented groups who are pursuing careers in STEM and health-related fields.
First-Generation and Historically Underrepresented Students
The听Nassau-果酱视频 Gateway,听a college bridge program launched in 2021, partners with Nassau Community College to allow its students to live on 果酱视频’s campus while taking courses. The program’s goal is streamlining the path to a four-year degree for first-generation college students and historically underrepresented groups. The program builds on the success of the听Personalized Enrollment Initiative听(PEI) that connects prospective students from underrepresented groups with faculty and staff members throughout the admissions process. PEI won an Eduventures Innovation Award and resulted in the 2021 incoming first-year class being the most diverse in 果酱视频’s history.
Social Justice Education
More than 1,000 students, faculty and staff took part in Creating Ongoing Respect and Equity (CORE) training in 2021, a series of workshops that address diversity, equity and inclusion. The courses cover racism, implicit bias, microaggressions and gender bias and teach participants how to recognize and confront these issues. The executive board members of all student organizations took CORE training to empower them to run better clubs and organizations and use their leadership positions to make 果酱视频 a safe and equitable space for all.
鈥淭hat’s a program we should all be proud of,” LaMon said. 鈥淚t’s very difficult to change minds, to undo histories of oppression and disregard to inequities. We’re teaching students to take that lesson outside of 果酱视频, to take that lesson home to their family dinner table. We want to impact the world, not just our campus.”