Loyola Marymount University’s commitment to inclusiveness and diversity is enduring and comprehensive. To further that commitment, LMU’s Office of Intercultural Affairs and the University Intercultural Council present the 2017-18 awards and grants for inclusive excellence.
“These awards and grants foster an organizational culture that focuses on making inclusive excellence an integral part of LMU’s identity,” said Abbie Robinson- Armstrong, Ph.D., LMU’s vice president for intercultural affairs. “The awards highlight the work of enthusiastic faculty and staff who worked tirelessly during the last academic year to support our students. The grants showcase LMU’s history of successfully infusing diversity, which emanates from the mission, into the ethos of the university.”
In previous years, these have been awards of recognition. Beginning this year, a monetary component will be added to the award to further the work being recognized.
Inclusive Excellence Grants identify and fund higher education research and inclusive excellence projects that help LMU achieve its mission by way of infusing diversity and interculturalism throughout the campus community. The awarded grants for the 2017-18 cycle are:
- $5,000 Research Grant: Susan Burkhauser, research associate with the Office of Institutional Research, to conduct a study on the impact of faculty of color on retention of students of color.
- $3,000 Project Grant: Karie Huchting, associate professor of education leadership, and Brad Stone, professor of philosophy, to enhance the retention of African-American doctoral students by supporting their attendance to the Black Doctoral Network Conference.
- $3,000 Project Grant: William H. Hannon Library’s Aisha Conner-Gaten, instructional design librarian; Javier Garibay, librarian-in-residence; Jamie Hazlitt, librarian for collection development and evaluation; Marie Kennedy, serials and electronic resources librarian; and Marisa Ramirez, electronic resources assistant, to conduct an assessment of the library’s electronic collection through the lens of diversity.
Inclusive Excellence Awards recognize members of the faculty and staff, administrators, and student organizations that have enhanced inclusive excellence and contributed to a more equitable and inclusive campus environment. The awards for 2017-18 are:
- Inclusive Excellence Exemplary Higher Education Leadership Award: Nora Murphy and Adam Fingerhut for leading education efforts for LMU faculty on implicit bias ($1,000/each to be donated to LMU fund of their choice).
- Inclusive Excellence Exceptional Staff Team Award: Marissa Montes, Emily Robinson, Alejandro Barajas, and Sandra Ruiz (all from the Law School) for providing pro bono services to indigent and immigrant communities in the Greater L.A. area ($2,500 to be divided among team members as spot bonuses).
- Inclusive Excellence Exceptional Staff Team Award: Elaine Coates, Laurel Schmolze, Jeff Schwartz, and Michelle Yeung for the testing, rollout and adoption of Brightspace, including making it ADA compliant.
For more information regarding all of LMU’s efforts in promoting an inclusive and diverse community, please contact Abbie Robinson-Armstrong, Ph.D. at arobinso@lmu.edu.
