DePaul University receives Insight Into Diversity 2024 Higher Education Excellence in Diversity (HEED) Award

National honor recognizes university’s commitment to diversity and equity

DePaul University receives Insight Into Diversity 2024 Higher Education Excellence in Diversity (HEED) Award

National honor recognizes university’s commitment to diversity and equity

Maria Toscano|Oct 07, 2024
(Image courtesy of Insight Into Diversity)
DePaul University has been named a 2024 Higher Education Excellence in Diversity (HEED) Award recipient from Insight Into Diversity magazine. DePaul earned this award for its comprehensive diversity initiatives, which include recruiting and retaining students, fostering student success, engaging faculty, expanding staff resource groups, and supporting diverse leaders.  
 
“Receiving this HEED award matters so much to DePaul because it is dedicated to excellence in pursuit of diversity, which aligns with our Vincentian values. This award signals to students, faculty, staff, alumni, and donors that we strive to create an equitable working and learning environment at DePaul,” said José Perales, interim vice president of diversity and equity.  
 
This is the sixth time since 2012 that DePaul has been honored with this recognition. Perales cites several ongoing diversity efforts as contributing to DePaul’s excellence, including:

  • Leading efforts in reducing the achievement gap for Black and Hispanic students; 
  • Two diversity summits that convened more than 70 faculty and staff members to help inform the Office of Diversity and Equity’s strategic plan; 
  • The establishment of two new employee resource groups—the DePaul Jewish Faculty and Staff Alliance, and the DePaul Muslim Faculty and Staff Alliance; 
  • Working to attain status as a Hispanic-Serving Institution; 
  • Establishing the Black Equity Initiative (BEI), which focuses on addressing systemic barriers and fostering an equitable environment for Black students, faculty, and staff at DePaul; 
  • Creating dialogues and spaces for the DePaul community to communicate, understand and learn from each other. 
DePaul received the HEED Award for excellence in DEI, including programing for faculty, staff and students. (Photo by Jeff Carrion/DePaul University)
As part of the Designing DePaul framework, DePaul is focusing on helping all students at DePaul succeed in their academic pursuits and find community, belonging and connection at the university. Programs include: first-year experience programs to familiarize students with Chicago; Generation Success to support students who are the first in their families to attend college; and DePaul’s Academic Continuity and Engagement unit connects with students to individually address their barriers to success on their academic journey. 
In 2024, DePaul was designated as an AANAPISI (Asian American Native American Pacific Islander-Serving Institution) by the federal government. That designation is assigned to universities that have at least 10% of their student body comprised of students who are of Asian American, Native American, or Pacific Island descent.  
 
According to Perales, earning that designation will allow DePaul University to seek federal funding grants that help improve the environment for that student population, and in turn for all DePaul students.  
 
“This recognition feeds our spirits and our energy, but also allows us to reflect and recognize that there’s still much more that can be done,” Perales said. 
 

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