Northeastern University Honored for Commitment to Diversity

National organization awards institution for creating a diverse university population

Northeastern University’s ongoing commitment to having a diverse faculty, staff and student population was recently recognized with an award, granted by Minority Access, Inc., a national educational organization that implements programs and supports efforts to improve the higher educational, professional and managerial employment of minorities.

“Northeastern University is cultivating a rich environment of inclusive excellence, diversity and social justice that prepares our students for leadership and contribution in a pluralistic local, national and global society and supports our faculty and staff,” said Donnie Perkins (right), Dean and Director of Affirmative Action and Diversity at Northeastern. “The institution is committed to building a climate of inclusion on and beyond campus and we are honored that our efforts are recognized on the national level.”

In addition to recognizing colleges and universities committed to diversity on their campuses, the nonprofit organization identifies, honors and publicizes institutions working to graduate minority biomedical researchers as Role Model Institutions as part of its partnership agreement with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Northeastern has several initiatives that focus on enhancing diversity in research-related fields, such as biomedicine. These initiatives include membership in the National GEM Consortium (identifying and attracting underrepresented minority graduate students); NUPRIME (helping historically underrepresented students fulfill their potentials academically and professionally); membership in the LSAMP-Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation (increasing recruitment, retention and graduation of minority students in the STEM fields). The university also supports pre-med students to attend American Medical Student Association leadership and other conferences.

“Given U.S. census projections of demographic trends, any higher education institution dependent on the general population to sustain enrollment, or committed to strengthening the nation, must diversify,” said Angela R. Mickle, President of Minority Access, Inc. “We are pleased that our research on data supplied by the Office of Educational Statistics at the U.S. Department of Education has resulted in Minority Access’ recognizing colleges and universities that genuinely seem to appreciate the value of diversity in creating a well-rounded educational experience.”

Underscoring Northeastern’s commitment to diversity, the university has recently been awarded The National Science Foundation has awarded Northeastern University a $3.7 million grant to help overcome institutional barriers that limit the advancement of women in key academic fields, including the sciences, engineering and social sciences.

With the ADVANCE Institutional Transformation Award for Advancing Women in Interdisciplinary and International Networks, Northeastern’s five-year program will build on the University’s existing projects by focusing on increasing recruitment of women, providing opportunities for networking to help advance female faculty, and fostering leadership development to oversee these opportunities across university departments.

Northeastern received the award from Minority Access, Inc. at the organization’s 9th National Role Models Conference, an annual event designed to honor institutions and individuals worthy of emulation. Each year, the conference unites representatives from major research universities, and other academic institutions, as well as representatives of leading member institutions of the educational, corporate and private sectors to discuss diversity and related issues. Naomi Thompson, Associate Director of the Office of Affirmative Action and Diversity, accepted the award and attended the conference on behalf of the University.

For more information, please contact Renata Nyul at 617-373-7424 or at r.nyul@neu.edu.

About Northeastern

Founded in 1898, Northeastern University is a private research university located in the heart of Boston. Northeastern is a leader in interdisciplinary research, urban engagement, and the integration of classroom learning with real-world experience. The university’s distinctive cooperative education program, where students alternate semesters of full-time study with semesters of paid work in fields relevant to their professional interests and major, is one of the largest and most innovative in the world. The University offers a comprehensive range of undergraduate and graduate programs leading to degrees through the doctorate in six undergraduate colleges, eight graduate schools, and two part-time divisions. For more information, please visit www.northeastern.edu.