For the first time in its history, Adler University has been recognized with the 2024 Higher Education Excellence in Diversity (HEED) Award from Insight Into Diversity magazine, the oldest and largest diversity-focused publication in higher education. Adler is one of 114 institutions nationwide to receive the annual award — a national honor recognizing U.S. colleges and universities that demonstrate an outstanding commitment to diversity and inclusion. The recipients will be featured in the upcoming November/December 2024 issue of Insight Into Diversity.
“Receiving the HEED Award on our first submission is a testament to Adler University’s deep commitment to fostering excellence across every aspect of our institution. While this honor reflects meaningful progress, we know that our work is far from complete. Our diversity, equity, inclusion, and access efforts are ongoing, and as President of Adler, I remain dedicated to continuously improving, learning, and pushing forward,” said Lisa Coleman, Ph.D. “This award further energizes our efforts to create practices that equip our students to lead as champions of health inclusivity and drive positive change in communities around the world.”
Insight Into Diversity selected Adler University for its efforts in fostering a diverse and inclusive environment for learning and working. Integrated into the Adler selection processes are equity reviews for faculty and executive searches, as well as outreach efforts to foster diverse candidate pools. Through established best practices in hiring, the University increased faculty diversity, with 46% identifying as Black, Indigenous, Hispanic/Latinx, Asian American, Native Hawaiian, Pacific Islander, or multiracial during the 2023-2024 academic year, compared to 41% during 2021-2022. The University’s hiring practices include postings to reach underrepresented candidates, fostering a diverse candidate pool. In addition, the interview process ensures a member of the institution’s diversity committee is included during faculty and executive searches.
Adler has also seen significant shifts in the demographic makeup of its full-time student body. Student diversity increased in several categories from the 2020-2021 academic year to 2023-2024. While the Black and Hispanic/Latinx student percentages remained similar to previous years, representing 11.4% and 8.6%, respectively, of the student population in 2023-2024, Adler did not have the decrease that many other colleges and universities across the U.S. have experienced. Additionally, the percentage of international students across all campuses rose by 5.7% to account for 21.2% of students, with the University’s Online Campus seeing the highest increase in international students. In addition, Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander students increased to 8.5%. The multiracial student population, previously unrepresented, increased to 3.3%, indicating progress in creating a more diverse and inclusive academic environment.
“The HEED Award process consists of a comprehensive and rigorous application that includes questions relating to the recruitment and retention of students and employees — and best practices for both — leadership support for diversity, campus culture and climate, supplier diversity, and many other aspects of campus diversity and inclusion,” said Lenore Pearlstein, publisher of Insight Into Diversity. “We take a detailed approach to reviewing each application in deciding who will be named a HEED Award recipient. 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.”
For more information about the 2024 HEED Award, visit insightintodiversity.com.
About Adler University
A nonprofit institution committed to educating practitioners to effect positive change, Adler University’s programs prepare students for work within public systems and communities. Founded in 1952, the University today offers 28 master’s and doctoral programs across psychology, counseling, public policy and mental health, and educates approximately 2,000 students annually. Programs are offered through its Chicago, Vancouver, and online campuses.
About Insight Into Diversity
Insight Into Diversity magazine is the leader in advancing best practices in DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion) in higher education. Through thought-provoking print and online articles, we share expert advice, valuable resources, in-depth profiles of top DEI programs at colleges and universities, headline news, and much more to help keep our readers informed and empower them to advance DEI initiatives at their institutions. To further our mission, we created the Insight Into Diversity Higher Education Excellence in Diversity (HEED) Award in 2012. The HEED Award — including the more targeted Insight Into Diversity Health Professions, Law School, and Community College HEED Awards — is the only national honor to recognize institutions of higher education for their outstanding commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion. Current, archived, and digital issues of Insight Into Diversity magazine are available online at insightintodiversity.com.