NC State has been selected as a recipient of the 2017 INSIGHT Into Diversity Higher Education Excellence in Diversity (HEED) Award. The HEED Award is the only national recognition honoring colleges and universities that show an outstanding commitment to diversity and inclusion across their campuses.

This year, 80 institutions received the award. In 2016, 83 institutions were selected for the honor. In its 2016 report of award recipients, publisher Lenore Pearlstein stated, “Every year, as our applicant pool grows, we continue to set higher standards for the schools we select as award recipients. Each must demonstrate a strong and ongoing commitment to diversity and inclusion through innovative programs and practices, training, curricula, on-campus support systems and much more.”

Recipients range from public to private, four-year institutions, community colleges, law schools, college districts and systems, research institutions, religiously affiliated schools and federally designated minority-serving institutions.

“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 Pearlstein. “We take a holistic approach to review 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.”

NC State will be featured, along with 79 other recipients, in the November 2017 issue of INSIGHT Into Diversity magazine. Other North Carolina recipients of the 2017 award include University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, University of North Carolina at Wilmington and East Carolina University. This is the second time NC State has been named as a HEED Award recipient.