For the sixth consecutive year, Swarthmore has been awarded the INSIGHT Into Diversity Higher Education Excellence in Diversity (HEED) Award recognizing colleges and universities that demonstrate an outstanding commitment to diversity and inclusion.

“It is an honor to receive the INSIGHT into Diversity HEED award,” says Tiffany Thompson, associate dean of inclusive excellence. “Swarthmore recognizes the importance of fostering a diverse campus so that we can develop our future global leaders.

“This work requires the entire community,” she adds, “which is why we continue to interweave [diversity, equity, and inclusion] practices into all divisions of the College.”

The HEED Award assesses on-campus initiatives, programs, outreach, student recruitment, retention, and hiring practices for faculty and staff in the nomination process. It is the only national award that honors individual institutions for being outstanding examples of colleges and universities committed to making diversity and inclusion a top priority across their campuses.

Swarthmore’s commitments to DEI include its Textbook Affordability Program; continued staff and faculty support for Employee Resource Groups; and the food pantry partnership between the First-Generation, Low-Income (FLI) Student Council, the Our Food Garden, the Office of Sustainability, and the Women’s Resource Center (WRC) that provides fresh produce to FLI students.

INSIGHT has also recognized the College’s undocumented student policy, need-blind admissions, enrollment fee waivers, and partnerships as examples of admissions policies and programs designed to recruit first-generation and traditionally underrepresented students.

Additionally, HEED has acknowledged the College’s Chester Community Fellows program, Philip Evans Scholars Program, veterans initiatives, and veterans affinity group, along with the Discover Swarthmore program, Swarthmore Summer Scholars Program, and Richard Rubin Scholar Mentoring Program.