Texas Christian University has received the Higher Education Excellence in Diversity (HEED) Award from INSIGHT Into Diversity for the fourth consecutive year. The national honor recognizes U.S. colleges and universities that demonstrate an outstanding commitment to diversity and inclusion.
“We are honored that TCU’s work in diversity, equity and inclusion is being noticed but most importantly that it is making a positive impact on our campus community,” Chancellor Victor J. Boschini, Jr. said. “This is a fantastic recognition of our DEI team’s efforts and the lasting effect on our connected culture.”
As a recipient, TCU will be featured, along with 100 other recipients, in the November 2021 issue of INSIGHT Into Diversity magazine, the oldest and largest diversity-focused publication in higher education.
“We are excited that so many campus members have been thoughtful and active in developing programs, resources and positions focused on supporting the TCU faculty, staff and students in the areas of inclusion, equity and diversity, said Aisha Torrey-Sawyer, interim senior advisor to the chancellor and chief inclusion officer. “The HEED Award is an opportunity to highlight the commitment and accomplishments that our campus produces each year.”
The 2021 designation was in recognition of several areas of focus at TCU, including:
- The Race and Reconciliation Initiative (RRI) is an academically based, historically focused initiative designed to investigate and document TCU’s experiences with racism, slavery and the Confederacy and ended with the university’s first-ever Reconciliation Day in April.
- Implementation of the Responsible for Inclusion and Sustaining Excellence Certificate program. Available for TCU employees, R.I.S.E. is designed to provide participants tools and learning opportunities to advance personal and professional development in diversity, equity and inclusion. Participants are challenged to improve their intercultural development through personal assessment; strengthen skills in advocacy and social change activism; and develop strategies to interrupt structural and systemic issues of power, privilege and oppression. Graduates are empowered to move concepts into concrete action.
- TCU’s newly formed Inclusive Excellence Center in the Neeley School of Business houses a wealth of initiatives focused on creating an inclusive, scholarly community. Programs include the JPMorgan Chase Inclusive Excellence Mentoring Program; an Accounting Career Awareness Program to encourage high school students historically underrepresented in business to seek degrees in accounting and finance; need-based assistance programs for Microsoft Certification and Business Attire; programs elevating women such as Amplify Women in Sales and the Texas Diversity Council’s Women in Leadership Symposium; and a new need-based scholarship for entrepreneurs who are first-generation college students and/or who have demonstrated a commitment to working with underserved populations.
- Texas Christian University joined the Tarrant To & Through Partnership, collaborating in a community-wide effort to ensure that more Tarrant County students have the training and skills they need to thrive in today's workforce and to meet the area's employment needs of the future
- Establishing a new position, Associate Dean of Faculty and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion for SIS and AddRan School of Liberal Arts.
- The Inclusive Excellence Initiatives Fund will grant up to $2500 for creative programs and educational opportunities that foster collaborative partnerships and encourages diversity and inclusion opportunities.
“We take a detailed approach to reviewing each application in deciding who will be named a HEED Award recipient,” Lenore Pearlstein, publisher of INSIGHT Into Diversity magazine, said. “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 2021 HEED Award, visit insightintodiversity.com.