Virginia Tech announced as HEED Award winner for eight consecutive years

Virginia Tech was chosen as a Diversity Champion in the 2023 Higher Education Excellence in Diversity (HEED) Award selection from INSIGHT Into Diversity magazine. 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 — Virginia Tech will be featured, along with other recipients, in the November/December 2023 issue of INSIGHT Into Diversity magazine, the oldest and largest diversity-focused publication in higher education. This honor is bestowed upon a limited number of colleges and universities across the nation, and this is the eighth consecutive year Virginia Tech has been named as a HEED Award recipient.

“We are honored to be recognized for eight consecutive years and will continue working toward a more inclusive campus where every student has access to rich educational experiences that put them on a path to a productive life and career,” said Virginia Tech President Tim Sands.

Additionally, Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine was chosen for the sixth consecutive year for the Health Professions Higher Education in Diversity (HEED) Award. The school were recognized for its continued and outstanding commitment to diversity and inclusion.

“It is wonderful that the work so many across the university can be acknowledged once again in receiving the HEED Diversity Champion designation. The commitment to InclusiveVT by so many members of the staff and faculty and the urging of our students and alumni that we live up to our mission and values are keys to the ongoing pursuit of our diversity and inclusion aspirations. The opportunity to celebrate the work along the path is essential to persistence and we thank INSIGHT into Diversity for the honor, “ said Ellington Graves, interim senior associate vice provost for the Office for Inclusion and 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.”