Awards & Accolades | Office for Diversity, Equity and Inclusive Engagement

Case Western Reserve University receives INSIGHT Into Diversity 2020 Higher Education Excellence in Diversity Award

SEPTEMBER 2020

Case Western Reserve University has again received the national Higher Education Excellence in Diversity (HEED) Award from INSIGHT Into Diversity magazine, a diversity-focused publication in higher education.

The award recognizes colleges and universities nationally that have demonstrated an outstanding commitment to diversity and inclusion. Case Western Reserve has received the award each of the last nine years—since the honor was established in 2012.

The university will receive a plaque and be featured with 89 other recipients in the November 2020 issue of INSIGHT Into Diversity magazine.

“We are honored to once again be recognized with this national diversity excellence award,” said Robert L. Solomon, the university’s vice president for inclusion, diversity and equal opportunity. “The award is a testament to our continued commitment to inclusion and diversity and our success in many of our efforts. It also represents the collective commitment and hard work of many—our students, staff and faculty—and demonstrates that our campus community embraces inclusion and diversity as a core value. Although there is much more work to do, we can build on this foundation to create a sustained legacy of inclusive excellence.”

To be considered for the award, institutions complete an extensive application and summarize their diversity and inclusion initiatives. This year’s CWRU application highlighted:

Outreach programs to underrepresented students and communities, including The Envoys Program, which brings to campus low-income, local underrepresented high school students who engage in STEM research and academic programming; Emerging Scholars Program, which provides advising, academic support and networking opportunities to incoming first-generation, low-income and underrepresented students of color; and the Posse Foundation program, a nationally renowned program that strives to increase college access for promising urban students from diverse backgrounds.
Collegiate Connections, a mentoring program that matches first-year students with student mentors who provide academic, social and professional guidance and support.
Northern Ohio AGEP Alliance (NOA-AGEP) program, a group of seven Ohio institutions, led by Case Western Reserve, which works to improve the participation, preparation and success of underrepresented students in STEM graduate education and prepare these students to enter the professoriate.
The campus-wide diversity education program, Diversity 360, which is now a requirement for all incoming staff, students and faculty.
Affinity and employee resource groups for students, staff and faculty.

“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 INSIGHT Into Diversity Publisher Lenore Pearlstein. “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.”

Learn more about the HEED award.

Case Western Reserve University receives INSIGHT Into Diversity 2019 Higher Education Excellence in Diversity (HEED) Award

SEPTEMBER 2019

Case Western Reserve University received the 2019 Higher Education Excellence in Diversity (HEED) Award from INSIGHT Into Diversity magazine, a diversity-focused publication in higher education.

As a recipient of the annual HEED Award—a national honor recognizing colleges and universities around the country that demonstrate an outstanding commitment to diversity and inclusion—Case Western Reserve will be featured, along with 92 other recipients, in the November 2019 issue of INSIGHT Into Diversity magazine.

This is the eighth straight year the university has received a HEED Award.

“We are excited and honored to once again be recognized by INSIGHT Into Diversity for our diversity efforts,” said Joy Bostic, the university’s interim vice president in the Office for Diversity, Equity and Inclusive Engagement. “Many throughout the campus community have embraced the university’s inclusion and diversity goals and this award is the result of hard work and commitment by students, staff and faculty working to make CWRU a more welcoming and inclusive campus. Of course, there is more work to be done, but this award encourages us to pause, recognize what we have accomplished and take pride in our successes.”

CWRU has received the national award every year since the honor was established in 2012. To be considered for the award, institutions complete an extensive application and summarize their diversity and inclusion initiatives. This year’s CWRU application highlighted:

Somos CWRU—a newly created pilot program aimed at developing a recruitment and retention strategy for the Latinx population.
Diversity Resource Forum—held for the first time last fall. The forum highlights resources and services across campus involved in diversity, inclusion and equity work.
Mentor Circles & Mentor Fellows—the initiative works to increase knowledge and understanding of mentoring underrepresented students.
Sustained Dialogue program—the university’s award-winning diversity initiative for students, staff and faculty. The program promotes cross-cultural interaction and provides an opportunity for participants to make recommendations to the administration on ways to improve the campus climate.
Rooney Rule-like policies that require a diverse applicant pool for faculty and top administrative positions.
The CWRU Trailblazer Project—a portraiture initiative that annually showcases the contributions of CWRU alumni of color and women and helps to diversify the images that appear in campus common areas.
African and African American Studies Minor—established in 2018, the program provides an opportunity for students to explore the global black experience and its relationship to black life in the Americas.

“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. “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.”

CWRU Sustained Dialogue program receives national award

OCTOBER 2017

The ethos of sustained dialogue has had a positive and powerful effect on the Case Western Reserve University campus since 2013, when the Sustained Dialogue Campus Network was formed. The program aims to engage members of the CWRU community in dialogues that cultivate strong, trusting relationships and foster respect for each individual and their ability to contribute to positive change.

The success of the program on campus has led the Sustained Dialogue Advising Team to be chosen as a recipient of this year’s National Dialogue Award, presented by the Sustained Dialogue Institute. This award recognizes the influence of integrating Sustained Dialogue into active groups on campus and the pivotal role this work has had in campus responses to challenging moments.

The Case Western Reserve University team is composed of:

Janetta Hammock, diversity program manager;
John Killings, associate director of multicultural leadership and programming;
Edwin Mayes, director of first-year experience and family programs; and
Naomi Sigg, director of the Office of Multicultural Affairs.

The team will travel to Washington, D.C., Nov. 16 to receive the award.

Other award winners this year include former Congresswoman Gabby Giffords and her husband, astronaut Mark Kelly.

An independent advisory board selected the recipients of the awards. Sustained Dialogue Institute President Mark Farr said: “We’re proud of them. The winners from the Campus Network have each shown the promise of a life marked by dialogue. We hope the award encourages our awardees to promote Sustained Dialogue between those of difference for decades to come.”

Since Sustained Dialogue Campus Network began, the university has benefited from many successful initiatives and programs directly related to the Sustained Dialogue program. Sustained Dialogue is a part of Diversity 360 training curriculum delivered to all first-year students during orientation as well as many faculty, staff and graduate students. Sustained Dialogue also was added formally to the Employee Wellness Program in spring 2016 to build the community and facilitate opportunities for positive change on campus.

CWRU hosted the What You Do Matters Leadership Symposium in 2015 in collaboration with the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum and the Sustained Dialogue Campus Network. Brittany Chung (CWR ’16) received the National Student Sustained Dialogue Award in 2015. A student Sustained Dialogue group led to the creation of You Are Not Alone (YANA), a student organization that brings awareness of mental health to communities of color. Several community-wide Days of Dialogue were created to address national, regional and local social justice issues.

For more information about the Sustained Dialogue Campus Network at Case Western Reserve, visit students.case.edu/diversity/groups/dialogue/.

Case Western Reserve receives national Higher Education Excellence in Diversity award for seventh straight year

OCTOBER 2018
For the seventh consecutive year, Case Western Reserve University is the recipient of the national Higher Education Excellence in Diversity (HEED) Award from INSIGHT Into Diversity magazine.

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—Case Western Reserve will be featured, along with 95 other recipients, in the November 2018 issue of INSIGHT Into Diversity.

“Receiving this award for the seventh consecutive year is quite a distinction for our university,” said Marilyn S. Mobley, vice president for inclusion, diversity and equal opportunity. “We have been working hard on these issues as a campus community, and so we all share this honor. At the same time, we know that inclusive excellence only comes through continued efforts, focused attention and strategic action.”

Diversity 360, the campus-wide, comprehensive, diversity education program
CWRU Sustained Dialogue Program, which received a national award in 2017
A variety of diversity-related student recruitment and student-service initiatives implemented by the university’s departments and schools.

“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. “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 accomplished every day across their campus.”

Commission 50 Award

Case Western Reserve University has been recognized for its diversity progress and strategies by the Economic Inclusion Commission of the Greater Cleveland Partnership. In April 2015, the university was recognized as a member of the 2014 Commission 50. The university has received the award every year since 2011.

The Commission 50 designation recognizes organizations for their progress in creating, enhancing and sustaining diversity and inclusion strategies. Each year, the Economic Inclusion Commission recognizes 25 for-profit and 25 nonprofit/government organizations with the highest combined scores on board, senior management, workforce and supplier diversity on the Commission’s Employers Survey on Diversity.‌

Best-in-Class Awards

Case Western Reserve University named "Best-in-Class" by the Greater Cleveland Partnership's Commission on Economic Inclusion.

The commission cited a number of campus initiatives that are helping to create a diverse workforce at CWRU including: the work of the Diversity Leadership Council; mentoring programs for both faculty and staff; unconscious bias training for managers, supervisors and search committees; professional development opportunities for women and individuals from underrepresented groups; and employee resource groups—the President's Advisory Council on Minorities, the President's Advisory Council on Minorities and Staff Advisory Council.

2013: Best-in-Class for Board Diversity

2012, 2011 and 2010: Best-in-Class for Workforce Diversity

Awarded since 2003, selections are based on results of the annual Employers Survey on Diversity™ and follow-up interviews by commission staff. Three honorees—a nonprofit/government organization, a large corporation and a middle-market member—are chosen in each category. The Commission on Economic Inclusion is a program of the Greater Cleveland Partnership (GCP) and is focused on creating positive, measurable outcomes leading to increases in board, senior management, workforce and supplier diversity among the more than 100 Northeast Ohio employers who are members of the Commission. Additionally, the CGP aims to increase the total revenue, value, size and number of employees for minority-owned businesses in the region and throughout the State of Ohio.