Stetson Law Wins 5th Consecutive HEED Award for Diversity
For the fifth year in a row, Stetson University College of Law has won the 2024 Higher Education Excellence in Diversity (HEED) Award in recognition of its outstanding commitment to promoting belonging and inclusive excellence.
Insight Into Diversity magazine issues this award each year to honor higher education institutions that excel in their efforts to foster belonging on campus. For Stetson, the award reflects years of hard work and innovative strategies for ensuring diversity remains a core value for the College.
For the second year in a row, this recognition encompasses all of Stetson University, including the main campus in DeLand, which has, in recent years, taken great strides to significantly advance diversity and inclusion on the DeLand campus.
“This national recognition affirms Stetson’s ongoing commitment to put people, culture and inclusive excellence at the forefront of all that we do,” said Stetson President Christopher F. Roellke, PhD. “Providing a sense of belonging to students, faculty and staff, who come from a diverse range of backgrounds and experiences, lies at the heart of our relationship-rich approach to education.”
Key initiatives at Stetson Law
For the College of Law, notable efforts include revamping the way it orients new students and programs aimed at encouraging exploration across cultures.
Assigning full-time and part-time law students into smaller groups called “Inns,” the new orientation format focuses on mentorship, stress management, and belonging among students as they face the rigors of legal education. The “Inns” approach is now in its second year, and leadership has seen measurable differences in student wellbeing.
“With the Inns, we created a space for the 1L students to feel connected to each other, their upper-level colleagues, and their faculty leaders,” said Associate Dean for Assessment and Professional Engagement Anne Mullins. “Student surveys show that the Inns have helped students from a variety of backgrounds and lived experiences develop a real sense of belonging. They learn early on that their presence in the community and their contributions to the community matter.”
The College of Law has also promoted cross-cultural learning opportunities through events and digital awareness campaigns – and continues its efforts to recruit students from a diverse range of communities. “It is such an honor for Stetson’s College of Law to receive this recognition for the fifth year,” said Law Dean D. Benjamin Barros. “Initiatives like our ‘Inns’ Orientation model and cross-cultural learning efforts not only promote an important sense of belonging, but they also empower our law students through thoughtful engagement with their future roles as lawyers and leaders throughout the diversity of communities they will serve.”
Sustained efforts university-wide
On both campuses, the Cross-Cultural Awareness Initiative invites all to celebrate cultural holidays and observances, such as Juneteenth, Pride Month, Disability Pride Month and Hispanic Heritage Month. These celebrations include cultural awareness and education, allowing for a cross-cultural exchange.
To support Stetson employees, Human Resources launched Employee Resource/Affinity Groups to ensure they feel valued and empowered to succeed. Employees who volunteer for the affinity groups share a common purpose, identity or interest, such as groups for LGBTQIA+, working parents/caregivers, and for various hobbies.
“I am so excited about Stetson’s continued momentum in empowering our students, staff, faculty, and alumni from such a wide diversity of backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives to not only thrive as their genuine selves, but to also learn and connect with each other across our celebrated differences,” said Carmen B. Johnson, Executive Officer for Institutional Inclusive Excellence.
Johnson added that the award will bolster future efforts for sustained cultivation of diversity on Stetson’s campuses.
“The HEED Award is an affirmation of our current efforts and for the innovations that lie ahead,” she said.
Stetson, for example, has approved the new Forward Together strategic priorities for 2023-2030, with a core focus on “People, Culture and Inclusive Excellence.” This emphasis is vital for academic excellence, alumni engagement, student success, and more.
Earning the recognition
The HEED Award requires a rigorous application process that considers such factors as an institution’s efforts to recruit and retain students and employees, the campus culture and leadership support for diversity.
“We take a detailed approach to reviewing each application in deciding who will be named a HEED Award recipient,” said Lenore Pearlstein, publisher of Insight into Diversity magazine. “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.”
Stetson and 113 other winners are featured in the November/December 2024 issue of Insight into Diversity magazine, which is a leader in advancing best practices in diversity, equity, and inclusion in higher education.
Learn more about Inclusive Excellence at Stetson Law.
Post date: Nov. 20, 2024
Media contact: Kate Bradshaw
[email protected] | 727-430-1580