Framingham State Earns Higher Education Excellence in Diversity (HEED) Award

FRAMINGHAM — Framingham State University has been recognized with the 2024 Higher Education Excellence in Diversity (HEED) Award from Insight Into Diversity magazine, the 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—Framingham State will be featured, along with 113 other recipients, in the November/December 2024 issue of Insight Into Diversity magazine. This marks the 7^th time Framingham State has been a HEED award recipient.

“We are proud to once again receive this recognition from Insight Into Diversity Magazine,” says Dr. Jeffrey Coleman, Framingham State’s Vice President for Diversity, Inclusion and Community Engagement. “One of Framingham State’s strategic goals is to embed diversity, inclusion, equity and cultural competency into every facet of the University. While there is a lot more work to be done, this recognition demonstrates that we are heading in a positive direction.”

In presenting a HEED award to Framingham State University, Insight Into Diversity magazine specifically highlighted:

• FSU’s focus on retention, persistence and graduation rates for underrepresented students, as well as programs such as Gen-One Next Level, which provides support to students who are the first in their family to attend college.
• The University’s development of recruitment programs and partnerships to reach and interact with potential students from underrepresented groups, particularly following the elimination of Affirmative Action.
• The University’s AGEP Alliance model, which is an NSF-funded initiative to promote and advance BIPOC faculty who are early in their careers.
• Framingham State’s Inclusive Excellence Faculty Fellows program coordinated through the Division of Diversity, Inclusion, and Community Engagement.
• A hiring process that requires applicants to include an equity and inclusion statement in their materials.
• Continued diversity training for students, faculty and employees.

“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.”