CSUSM Wins Top Diversity Award for Ninth Straight Year

Cal State San Marcos has received the 2022 Higher Education Excellence in Diversity (HEED) Award from INSIGHT Into Diversity magazine, the oldest and largest diversity-focused publication in higher education.  

As a recipient of the annual HEED Award — a national honor recognizing U.S. colleges and universities that demonstrate an outstanding commitment to diversity and inclusion — CSUSM will be featured along with 102 other recipients in the November 2022 issue of INSIGHT Into Diversity magazine.  

This is the ninth straight year that CSUSM has been named a HEED Award recipient.  

INSIGHT Into Diversity magazine selected CSUSM based on the institution’s exemplary diversity and inclusion initiatives, and ability to support a broad definition of diversity on campus, including gender, race, ethnicity, veterans, people with disabilities, members of the LGBTQ+ community, as well as all others.  

“I am so proud that CSUSM has been recognized for the ninth consecutive year,” CSUSM President Ellen Neufeldt said. “This recognition truly speaks to the real understanding that each of us plays in making this university the best that it can be. I am so grateful to our students, faculty and staff who are so dedicated to creating a university of true belonging, and we will continue to work each day to maintain our focus on diversity, educational equity and social justice.”  

CSUSM is one of only three CSU schools to win the HEED Award this year. The others are Fresno and Los Angeles.  

“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 – continued leadership support for diversity, and other aspects of campus diversity and inclusion,” said Lenore Pearlstein, publisher of INSIGHT Into Diversity magazine. “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 2022 HEED Award, visit insightintodiversity.com. For more information about diversity and inclusion at CSUSM, visit the Office of Inclusive Excellence at www.csusm.edu/equity or email diversity@csusm.edu.