The UNC Greensboro School of Nursing has received the 2022 Health Professions Higher Education Excellence in Diversity (HEED) Award from INSIGHT Into Diversity magazine, affirming the school’s commitment to promoting diversity, equity, inclusion, belonging, and civility.
The UNCG School of Nursing is the only nursing program in North Carolina to earn this honor, which is specifically for health professions. The award recognizes U.S. health colleges and universities that demonstrate a strong commitment to diversity and inclusion.
This marks the first time that the School of Nursing has received the Health Professions HEED Award and the fifth consecutive year that UNCG has earned the HEED Award. INSIGHT Into Diversity is the oldest and largest diversity-focused publication in higher education.
“The application for this award was a sort of self-assessment. I was not sure that we would receive it, but I was confident that we would learn a lot about our efforts and opportunities in the diversity space,” said Dr. Debra J. Barksdale, dean of the School of Nursing. “We are grateful and humbled to receive this award.”
As a recipient of the Health Professions HEED Award, the School of Nursing will be featured in the December 2022 issue of INSIGHT Into Diversity. Of the 63 institutions to earn the Health Professions HEED Award this year, only 15 of them are nursing programs from across the country.
INSIGHT Into Diversity recognized the School of Nursing for its embrace of issues related to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). The School of Nursing is seeking to start a holistic admissions process for its traditional bachelor of science in nursing (BSN) program, leading to a more diverse student body.
In addition, the School of Nursing supports diverse and disadvantaged students with its tutoring program and an academic enhancement coordinator, who has launched an informal peer support group known as “The Chat” that is run by senior BSN students.
School of Nursing faculty members are encouraged to use resources that the National Center for Faculty Development & Diversity provides. Furthermore, metrics to measure DEI have been implemented in the School of Nursing’s tenure and annual preview process.
Photography by David Lee Row, University Communications