Office of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Honored with HEED Award for Second Year in a Row

For the second consecutive year, the Office of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (OEDI) at the University of Arizona College of Medicine – Phoenix received the Health Professions Higher Education Excellence in Diversity (HEED) Award — a national honor recognizing U.S. colleges and universities that demonstrate an outstanding commitment to diversity and inclusion.

INSIGHT Into Diversity magazine, the oldest and largest diversity-focused publication in higher education, recognizes colleges and universities across the U.S. every year for their exemplary commitment to fostering a diverse and inclusive learning environment. The College of Medicine – Phoenix will be featured, along with 45 other recipients, in the December 2020 issue.

“The HEED award is a tribute to the great work done by so many at the college to advance Inclusive Excellence. The OEDI team and I are grateful for everyone's engagement and support, and we are honored to represent the college in this national recognition,” said Francisco Lucio, JD, associate dean in the Office of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion.

OEDI has championed inclusivity through community outreach programs, diversity workshops and leadership training that are dedicated to engaging underrepresented individuals. In early 2020, OEDI hosted a highly successful Building the Next Generation of Academic Physicians National Conference that brought together diversity thought leaders to help improve the number of underrepresented trainees who seek a career in academic medicine.

In response to the senseless killings of unarmed Black Americans and subsequent civil unrest due to systemic racism, the OEDI team, senior leaders and students at the college assembled in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement and held a series of dialogue sessions to address police brutality and protests around the country. Through these sessions, a 12-Step Action Plan was developed to work toward dismantling racism, as well as the barriers and deficits that it creates.

“Highlighting our community programs and engagement helped us win the award again,” said Sonji Muhammad, director in the Office of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion. Muhammad emphasized that the OEDI team was in an ideal position to submit an application for the second year in a row because of the ease in which they were able to build off their already robust and diverse efforts.

“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 — continued leadership support for diversity, and 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.”

Other recipients of the 2020 Health Professions HEED Award are:

• A.T. Still University.
• California State University, Los Angeles.
• Columbia University, College of Dental Medicine.
• Duke University School of Nursing.
• Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine.
• Florida State University College of Medicine.
• Frontier Nursing University.
• Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.
• Johns Hopkins School of Nursing.
• Louisiana State University School of Veterinary Medicine.
• MGH Institute of Health Professions.
• Penn State College of Medicine and Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center.
• Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine.
• Purdue University College of Veterinary Medicine.
• School of Nursing, University of Minnesota.
• TCU and UNTHSC School of Medicine.
• Texas A&M University – College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences.
• Texas A&M University College of Dentistry.
• The Medical University of South Carolina.
• The Ohio State University College of Medicine.
• The Ohio State University College of Nursing.
• The Ohio State University College of Optometry.
• The Ohio State University College of Veterinary Medicine.
• Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine – New York.
• UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health.
• University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Public Health.
• University of California, Riverside School of Medicine.
• University of Cincinnati College of Nursing.
• University of Cincinnati James L. Winkle College of Pharmacy.
• University of Cincinnati, College of Allied Health Sciences.
• University of Colorado School of Dental Medicine.
• University of Florida College of Dentistry.
• University of Louisville.
• University of Maryland, Baltimore, School of Nursing.
• University of Miami Leonard M. Miller School of Medicine.
• University of Michigan Medical School.
• University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry.
• University of Rochester School of Nursing.
• University of Texas at Austin College of Pharmacy.
• University of the Incarnate Word Feik School of Pharmacy.
• University of Virginia School of Medicine.
• UT Southwestern Medical Center.
• Vanderbilt University School of Nursing.
• Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine.
• Weill Cornell Medicine.

Congratulations to the OEDI team for this incredible achievement and national honor that shines a light on the department’s commitment to the campus community and the college’s strategic initiatives.

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More information about the 2020 Health Professions HEED Award