Drake University received the 2024 Higher Education Excellence in Diversity (HEED) Award from Insight Into Diversity magazine, the oldest and largest diversity-focused publication in higher education.
Drake is one of 113 colleges and universities across the country to receive this national award—and the only school in Iowa—recognizing the University’s commitment to, and continued advancement of, equity, access, inclusion, and diversity. As part of this year’s recognition, Drake will be featured in the November/December 2024 issue of Insight Into Diversity magazine.
“Drake is honored to be nationally recognized with the HEED award, which is a testament to the collective work and dedication of everyone across the University community,” said Terrance Pendleton, associate provost for campus equity and inclusion at Drake University. “At Drake, we value diversity as an institutional strength and strive to be a model to the world of what a welcoming and inclusive campus can be.”
Insight Into Diversity magazine selected Drake for its continued efforts to enhance equity, access, inclusion, and diversity on campus as evidenced through its programs, such as: C.O.R.E. (Community of Racial Equity) for Advancement, multicultural student organizations and Unity Roundtable, faculty and staff affinity groups, the Crew Scholars program, campus incident response, trainings facilitated by the National Coalition Building Institute (NCBI), and Drake’s newest program Bulldogs Belong: Resilient and Thriving, which aims to create a stronger sense of belonging and improve wellness and well-being for students, faculty, and staff.
In addition to the University’s robust initiatives and programs, Drake is creating its first dedicated intercultural space on campus, named the Sammons Intercultural Center. The Sammons Intercultural Center will occupy the ground floor of Morehouse Hall (currently under renovation) and provide Drake’s multicultural student organizations with a home base for academic support and engagement.
The HEED award comes just weeks after Drake announced that it enrolled its most diverse undergraduate class in the University’s 143-year history. The diversity of the new undergraduate student population is 37.4%. This includes entering first-year (EFR) and transfer students seeking bachelor’s degrees at Drake as well as first-year and transfer students seeking associate degrees from Drake’s John Dee Bright College. Specifically, the diversity of EFR students joining Drake is 35.3%, which is 4.6% higher than last year and the strongest in University history.
Learn more about Drake’s ongoing commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion.