Framingham State Gets Diversity Award

FRAMINGHAM, MA—Framingham State University recently received the Higher Education Excellence In Diversity (HEED) award, which recognizes recipients who support diversity and inclusion on campus.

The award is given by INSIGHT into Diversity, the oldest and largest diversity magazine and website in higher education. Framingham State is featured along with 95 other recipients nationwide in the magazine’s November 2018 issue. This is the fourth time FSU has been honored with the award since 2014, more than any other public University in Massachusetts, said the announcement. It also comes less than a year after Framingham State was the target of some incidents of racist graffiti within its residence halls.

“This award demonstrates that the hateful actions of a few people cannot define our community,” said President F. Javier Cevallos in a statement. “The dialogue and self-reelection that has occurred on our campus over the past year has been inspiring and I’m proud of the comprehensive approach we have taken as we continually strive for excellence in institutional diversity and inclusion.”

The university has also launched several employee affinity groups in recent years, including: Faculty and Staff of Color; Faculty and Staff with Disabilities; Women Empowerment; Faculty and Staff with Small Children; and LGBTQ Faculty and Staff. Faculty are recognized and are encouraged to include diversity-related programming as service in tenure and promotion processes. DICE honors faculty who have demonstrated a commitment to diversity and inclusion through the Beacon Award.

The HEED award is the only national recognition honoring colleges and universities that exhibit outstanding efforts and success in the area of diversity and inclusion throughout their campuses.

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