Hope College has received the Higher Education Excellence in Diversity (HEED) Award for the second year in a row from INSIGHT Into Diversity magazine, the oldest and largest diversity-focused publication in higher education.
As a 2023 recipient of the annual HEED Award — a national honor recognizing U.S. colleges and universities that demonstrate an outstanding commitment to diversity and inclusion — Hope will be featured, along with the other 107 recipients, in the November/December 2023 issue of INSIGHT Into Diversity magazine.
“When we were notified about being HEED Award winners this year we were told that the selection committee was glad to see Hope apply again and was excited to read our application.” said Dr. Sonja Trent-Brown, who is vice president for culture and inclusive excellence at Hope. “It is such a blessing to be recognized with this award for the second consecutive year — a testament to the ongoing investment and efforts of the members of the Hope College community.”
“We are called to love and honor one another, live in harmony together, and practice hospitality,” she said. “Each day, students, staff and faculty of the Hope community actively make contributions to Hope being a place that is faithful, welcoming, and transformational and an environment in which persons from every tribe, language, people and nation can flourish. Those efforts are motivated by the hearts, heads, and hands of Hope’s people and even though they’re not seeking an award when they engage, the recognition of an honor like the HEED Award celebrates everyone’s efforts and contributions.”
INSIGHT Into Diversity magazine selects the HEED Award recipients based on its review of several criteria that together demonstrate a holistic commitment to diversity.
“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 — leadership support for diversity, campus culture and climate, supplier diversity, and many other aspects of campus diversity and inclusion,” said Lenore Pearlstein, publisher of INSIGHT Into Diversity magazine. “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.”
Highlights among the many elements contributing to Hope being recognized for the award for the second consecutive year include programs such as Steps2Success which helps incoming students from diverse backgrounds build connections and establish a sense of community, belonging and support during their transition to Hope College; Hope’s student organizations and clubs, including the Multicultural Student Organizations (MSOs); the Hope-Western Prison Education Program that provides a Christian liberal arts education to men incarcerated at Muskegon Correctional Facility; the Staff Advisory Group as a pipeline for staff and administration communication; listening sessions conducted between the provost and women faculty; and that Hope takes service into account as part of the tenure and promotion process. The selection committee also mentioned several positions at Hope, including the Retention Coordinator role and focus on student success, the Assistant Director of Admissions and Multicultural Recruitment role, and the Safeties Coach/Special Teams Coordinator role that works in conjunction with Athletics and the Center for Diversity and Inclusion (CDI).
INSIGHT Into Diversity magazine is the leader in advancing best practices in DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion) in higher education. Through print and online articles, INSIGHT Into Diversity shares expert advice, valuable resources, in-depth profiles of top DEI programs at colleges and universities, headline news, and more to help keep its readers informed and empower them to advance DEI initiatives at their institutions. To further its mission, the magazine established the HEED Award in 2012. The HEED Award is the only national honor to recognize institutions of higher education for their outstanding commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion.
More information about the 2023 HEED Award is available at insightintodiversity.com, where current, archived, and digital issues of INSIGHT Into Diversity magazine are also available.