For the fourth consecutive year, LSU received the Higher Education Excellence in Diversity Award from INSIGHT Into Diversity Magazine.
The award recognizes colleges and universities with high levels of commitment toward a diverse faculty and student population for the 2014-15 school year. Other universities among the 90 recipients of the 2015 HEED Award include Rice University, Florida State University and University of Georgia.
Dereck Rovaris, LSU vice provost for diversity, said INSIGHT looks into a university’s data on undergraduate student enrollment, events and activities held on campus and amount of money and resources used on diversity efforts.
“[For LSU], receiving the award says that we’re working toward the goal of achieving full diversity where every student, faculty and staff member, regardless of who they are, where they come from or what they look like is fully supported and received here,” Rovaris said.
The Office of Diversity is working to support diversity on campus, as well as recruit more diverse students and faculty, Rovaris said.
The Office of Admissions is collaborating with the Office of Diversity to explain why students from diverse backgrounds should attend LSU rather than other universities. After recruiting students, Rovaris said the Office of Diversity still plans to be a part of the students’ college lives.
“We have staff in place to support and nurture our students from various backgrounds, and we’ve been a voice for those who have been marginalized as well,” Rovaris said.
Last fall, the Office of Diversity started a new initiative in conjunction with the Office of Human Resource Management to create faculty diversity search training. Employees will head to other departments to explain why a diverse faculty should be encouraged.
Rovaris said the advertising scope of LSU has increased by placing ads in periodicals frequented by people from diverse backgrounds. The Office of Diversity and the Provost’s office are paying for each department’s use of the advertisements.
“We’re encouraging other departments to advertise more broadly, and we’re supporting them financially,” Rovaris said. “We’re also pointing them in the right direction of where to look for folks from diverse backgrounds.”
The journey to becoming a more diverse campus is something should be focused on, Rovaris said. He said, as the flagship university, LSU must represent a large amount of people and a diverse region.
“By winning the award, it says to others that diversity is something that we value, and it’s something that we prioritize as well,” Rovaris said.