Capital Community College received the inaugural Higher Education Excellence in Diversity (HEED) award from INSIGHT Into Diversity magazine, the oldest and largest diversity-focused publication in higher education.
As a winner of the HEED award, a national award honoring U.S. colleges and universities that demonstrate an outstanding commitment to diversity and inclusion, Capital will be featured along with 47 other recipients in the magazine’s December 2012 issue. Of those recipients only five are community colleges.
Capital was the first college in Connecticut designated as a Hispanic Serving Institution and enrolls the second highest percentage of minority students among 252 New England schools and colleges.
“Everyone talks about diversity and the importance of preparing students for a global society,” said President Wilfredo Nieves in a statement. “At Capital diversity across the board is the norm, and students from different backgrounds all over Greater Hartford attain a truly global perspective of the world as they share classes with each other and students from dozens of nations around the globe.”
INSIGHT Into Diversity magazine selected Capital based on the college’s diversity and inclusion initiatives and its focus on all aspects of diversity including gender, race, ethnicity, veterans, people with disabilities, and members of the LGBT community. Capital’s active Committee for Diversity and Inclusion, which continues to evolve, develops and supports activities year round that foster student inclusion and address special needs of a diverse population to ensure their success. Capital also engages in programs that strengthen multicultural competencies and growth among faculty, staff and students.
“Every college and university should recognize the importance of diversity and inclusion as being part of their everyday life on campus,” said Lenore Pearlstein, publisher of INSIGHT Into Diversity magazine. “Our students of today are the employees of tomorrow and the future of our country. As students begin to enter the workforce and a global society, they must first be surrounded by and supported by faculty and staff that understand the differences among cultures and their needs.”
For more information about the HEED award, visit INSIGHT Into Diversity magazine’s website at www.insightintodiversity.com.
