Saint Louis University Receives Insight Into Diversity 2024 HEED Award

ST. LOUIS  — Saint Louis 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.

"I am thrilled and honored for SLU to receive the prestigious HEED Award and that our dedicated efforts have been recognized nationally. Thank you to Insight Into Diversity for this distinction and award," said Rochelle D. Smith, chief diversity officer and vice president of the Division of Diversity and Innovative Community Engagement (DICE) at SLU.

Insight Into Diversity selected SLU for the HEED Award based upon a comprehensive and rigorous application process that includes the recruitment and retention of students and employees — and best practices for both — as well as leadership support for many other aspects of diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging (DEIB).

"This recognition reflects the commitment of the DICE team, SLU students, faculty, and staff and their unwavering commitment to fostering an inclusive environment where every voice is valued. We are making a meaningful impact and setting a standard for DEIB," Smith said.

This is the second time SLU has been named as a HEED Award recipient. In 2016, SLU became the first Jesuit university and the first private institution of higher education in the state of Missouri and the St. Louis metro region to be selected for the prestigious award.

"Engaging in the HEED Award process itself is a meaningful external evaluation practice that has the opportunity for significant impact and increases institutional transparency," said Allison Brewer, assistant vice president of DICE. "As we celebrate strides we have made towards DEIB best practices, it also helps us identify where we have the greatest opportunity for growth as an institution as we continue our commitment towards building learning and workplace environments where all can thrive."

As a recipient of the annual HEED Award — a national honor recognizing U.S. colleges and universities that demonstrate an outstanding commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion — SLU will be featured, along with 113 other recipients, in the November/December 2024 issue of Insight Into Diversity magazine.

The magazine is expected to highlight SLU’s response to a peaceful campus occupation in 2014 and how its approach then continues to guide its actions today.

This month marks the 10th anniversary of OccupySLU, which began after officer-involved shootings of two Black men in the St. Louis region and concluded peacefully with the adoption of the Clock Tower Accords.