By Margie Low | Cal State LA News Service
Cal State LA has received two 2019 Higher Education Excellence in Diversity (HEED) awards from INSIGHT Into Diversity magazine, the nation’s oldest and largest diversity-focused publication in higher education.
As a recipient of the annual HEED Award—a national honor recognizing U.S. colleges and universities that demonstrate an outstanding commitment to diversity and inclusion—Cal State LA will be featured in the November 2019 issue of INSIGHT Into Diversity magazine.
“Cal State LA is proud to have been a HEED Award recipient for the past two years,” said Cal State LA President William A. Covino. “This recognition underscores our continuing commitment to diversity and inclusion.”
INSIGHT Into Diversity magazine selected Cal State LA for demonstrating an outstanding commitment to diversity and inclusion. The university is one of six institutions in California to receive the honor.
“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,” said Lenore Pearlstein, publisher of INSIGHT Into Diversity magazine.
Health Professions HEED Award
The university also recently received the Health Professions HEED Award from INSIGHT Into Diversity for its success in fostering diversity and inclusion in the Patricia A. Chin School of Nursing. The Health Professions HEED Award recognizes U.S. medical, dental, pharmacy, osteopathic, nursing, veterinary and allied health schools that demonstrate an outstanding commitment to diversity and inclusion.
The Patricia A. Chin School of Nursing, which is in the Rongxiang Xu College of Health and Human Services, offers a graduate program with a nursing education option and nurse-practitioner options in Adult Gerontology Primary Care, Adult Gerontology Acute Care, Family, and Family Psychiatric Mental Health. Cal State LA launched a joint Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) program in fall 2012.
Dreamers Resource Center
The university’s commitment to diversity is also reflected in the work of the Erika J. Glazer Family Dreamers Resource Center, which supports undocumented students, often called Dreamers, through a number of programs and services aimed at ensuring their academic success and personal well-being. The center provides emergency grants, assists with DACA renewals, and engages students with a number of academic and professional development workshops and programs. The center works together with divisions, departments and offices across Cal State LA and offers training to help university employees better support undocumented students.
In collaboration with the CSU Chancellor’s Office and the community-based Central American Resource Center, the Dreamers Resource Center now provides free immigration and legal services for Cal State LA students, staff and faculty.
“Cal State LA is deeply committed to equity, diversity and inclusion. This commitment is the cornerstone of our work to ensure the success of every student, faculty and staff member,” said Octavio Villalpando, the university’s vice president for equity, diversity, and inclusion.
Ethnic Studies
During this year’s Fall Convocation, President Covino announced a plan to create a new college of ethnic studies at Cal State LA. The college will be home to the departments of Asian and Asian American Studies, Chicana(o) and Latina(o) Studies and Pan-African Studies, and will feature a curriculum that includes faculty from across the university.
The proposed mission of the college is to provide an interdisciplinary intellectual space that centers the histories, traditions, cultures, experiences, struggles and accomplishments of diasporic communities of color, making connections between the local and transnational.
Cal State LA is committed to transforming lives through inclusion, education and opportunity. As a premier public university in vibrant and diverse Los Angeles, Cal State LA continues to propel its students to greater prosperity.
For more information about the 2019 HEED Award, visit the INSIGHT Into Diversity webpage.
Photo: Cal State LA students. (Credit: J. Emilio Flores/Cal State LA)
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California State University, Los Angeles is the premier comprehensive public university in the heart of Los Angeles. Cal State LA is ranked number one in the United States for the upward mobility of its students. Cal State LA is dedicated to engagement, service, and the public good, offering nationally recognized programs in science, the arts, business, criminal justice, engineering, nursing, education, and the humanities. Founded in 1947, the University serves more than 28,000 students and has more than 250,000 distinguished alumni.
Cal State LA is home to the critically-acclaimed Luckman Fine Arts Complex, Pat Brown Institute for Public Affairs, Hertzberg-Davis Forensic Science Center, Hydrogen Research and Fueling Facility, Billie Jean King Sports Complex and the TV, Film and Media Center. For more information, visit www.CalStateLA.edu.
10/17/19