Michigan State University honored the 2020-21 Excellence in Diversity Award winners on Feb. 24 through a virtual ceremony. John Beck, associate professor in the School of Human Resources and Labor Relations, and Deborah Johnson, professor in the Department of Human Development and Family Studies and director of the Diversity Research Network, co-moderated the event that first launched in 1990. Additionally, President Samuel L. Stanley Jr. and Vice President and Chief Diversity Officer Jabbar Bennett gave remarks.
The award recognizes individuals, teams, units and organizations that have performed above and beyond and demonstrate outstanding leadership and creativity in the area of diversity. This year the selection team received 19 submissions.
Each spring, the Office for Inclusion and Intercultural Initiatives announces award recipients. This year's honorees include:
Individual Award: Emerging Progress
Amber Benton, director of diversity programming and student engagement, James Madison College
Laura Scales, academic specialist, Department of Theatre in the College of Arts and Letters
Quentin Tyler, associate dean and director for the Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, College of Agriculture and Natural Resources
Individual Award: Sustained Efforts toward Excellence in Diversity
Susan Ewart, professor, Department of Large Animal Clinical Sciences
Individual Award: Lifetime Achievement
Dave Weatherspoon, professor, Department of Agricultural, Food and Resource Economics, and associate dean of undergraduate studies in the Office of the Associate Provost for Undergraduate Education
Team Award: Emerging Progress
Jessica Stokes and Michael Stokes, HIVES Research Workshop and Speaker Series
Latinx Film Festival
Team Award: Sustained Efforts toward Excellence in Diversity
BEACON Center for the study of Evolution in Action
Organization Award: Excellent Progress toward Advancing Diversity within Community
American Economic Association Summer Program
The ceremony in its entirety, including honorees’ remarks, can be viewed here.