The University of Wisconsin–Madison seeks nominations for the 2025 Regents Individual Diversity Award. These awards recognize individuals whose work has fostered greater access and success for students who are members of historically underrepresented populations (including African American, Native American, Hispanic/Latino, Asian American, and Southeast Asian), first-generation, and/or economically disadvantaged.
Each institution within Universities of Wisconsin will submit one nomination for the individual award. The University of Wisconsin-Madison will select one nominee from these submissions to represent our candidate in the individual award category. Universities of Wisconsin will grant up to three awards of $7,500 each to support professional development or continuing programmatic activities. Recipients are anticipated to be recognized at the Board of Regents meeting on February 6-7, 2025.
Nominations are due by September 29, 2024.
Nomination Categories:
We are seeking nominations for individuals.
- Individual – Any individual affiliated with the UW–Madison and its institutions, including but not limited to faculty, staff, and students.
Selection Criteria
Nominations must provide evidence of outcomes and impacts on the eligible population(s), disaggregating data where appropriate.
Nominees’ work must demonstrate:
- Sustainable positive impact on equity and diversity, leading to positive university change
- Accountability demonstrated through routine assessment and use of feedback loops to promote forward movement on equity and diversity goals
- Intersections across multiple dimensions of diversity
- Collaborations with other units, departments, or communities, both within the university and beyond
Focus Areas
Reflecting the broad range of activities that foster access and success for students from diverse backgrounds, the following focus areas serve as a guide in identifying the types of exemplary efforts appropriate for this award:
- Improved student academic performance through efforts grounded in theories, concepts, and/or methodologies that enhance diversity and advance equity, social justice, multiculturalism, educational reform, and/or inclusion.
- Effective initiatives or efforts aimed at closing opportunity and equity gaps for underrepresented students. This may include work aimed at closing opportunity, or equity gaps among students within specific disciplines, such as teacher education or science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), using pedagogies, concepts, and practices that enhance diversity and advance equity, social justice, multiculturalism, educational reform, and/or inclusion.
- Increased retention and degree attainment among students who are members of historically underrepresented populations (including African American, Native American, Latina/o, Asian American, and Southeast Asian), first-generation, and/or economically disadvantaged.
- Evidence of an established record of achievement in personal or professional development efforts related to advising, mentoring, recruitment, retention, promotion, and graduation of underrepresented faculty, staff, or students.
- Demonstrated K-16 pipeline efforts, such as precollege and bridge programs that enhance/improve the college readiness of young adults who reside in Wisconsin.
Nomination Materials
Nominations should not exceed 13 pages and should include:
- A statement (limit 4-pages) describing the exemplary work of the individual. The statement by the nominee should clearly articulate measurable evidence of their impact and achievements under each of the four award criteria (sustainability, accountability, intersections, and collaborations).
- A resume/CV (limit 4-pages) of the nominee.
- One or two letters of support (limit 2-pages each) addressing the achievements of the individual from the:
- Dean
- Department Chair, Program Coordinator, Unit Head, immediate supervisor, or advisor
- An individual who has first-hand knowledge of the individual, department, program, unit, or team.
Nomination materials are subject to release under Wisconsin Open Records laws and should be written with the possibility of those materials being made publicly available.
Nominate
Nominations are due by September 29, 2024.
Award Background
Established by the Board of Regents in 2008, the award signifies the Board’s commitment to “achieving educational diversity at all UW System institutions … in order to fully develop advanced human potential, the jobs that employ that potential, and the flourishing of communities that sustain it.” Learn more about the Regents Diversity Award.
Recent UW–Madison recipients include:
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- Dr. Lori Kido Lopez, Professor of Communication Arts and Director of Asian American Studies Program, UW–Madison (2013)
- The Wisconsin Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation in the College of Engineering (2021), which works to increase the number of students graduating in STEM disciplines
- The UW–Madison Department of Chemistry in the College of Letters & Science (2020) for its Research Experiences for Undergraduates, Chemistry Opportunities, Catalyst and Chemistry Bridge to the Doctorate initiatives