NEW ALBANY, Ind. — Indiana University Southeast was honored for its diversity and inclusion efforts at One Southern Indiana’s 29th ONE Awards program.

The Brown-Forman Corporation Diversity Champion of the Year Award was presented to IU Southeast during One Southern Indiana’s (1si) ceremony on Thursday, April 6.

The award recognizes “a company that has made significant contributions to the advancement of the community through diversity initiatives and inclusion efforts creating a diverse and inclusive workforce and/or supplier base,” according to 1si.

“I am pleased that we are being recognized for our ongoing efforts to serve diverse student groups, to employ and retain diverse faculty and staff and to continue to attract speakers and performers to our campus who cover a variety of political, social and cultural perspectives,” Chancellor Ray Wallace said. “We view diversity, equity and inclusiveness as cornerstones of our institutional existence.”

Naming IU Southeast among seven of the “best and brightest” companies in the southern Indiana and Louisville metropolitan area, 1si highlighted the following diversity initiatives on campus:

• A strong commitment to diversity including a Council on Diversity which reports to the Chancellor and provides guidance and director to overall diversity efforts; a Coordinator of Academic Diversity; a coordinator for diversity in student affairs; and an Office of Equity and Diversity that reports directly to the Chancellor.
• The results of a recent diversity mapping report from Halualani and Associates consulting firm, which found IU Southeast’s commitment to diversity through completed diversity efforts and activities is equivalent to universities with enrollment between 18,000-25,000 students. Specifically, 95 percent of those efforts are centrally designed to promote and address diversity, inclusion or equity, which the report calls “much more than diversity window dressings.”
• A requirement of all IU Southeast students to take one course from a list of approved courses on the subject of diversity.
• The Chancellor’s Diversity Award, given annually to one faculty or staff member to recognize exceptional performance in promoting and enhancing diversity efforts on campus.

One Southern Indiana (1si) is the chamber of commerce and economic development organization for Clark and Floyd counties. Finalists were chosen by an independent panel of judges and selected based on criteria of business history, community involvement, response to adversity, newly-created opportunities and innovation in products or services.