Greenville Technical College (GTC) has received the 2017 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 2017 HEED award, GTC joins 79 other recipients nationwide. Only three colleges in South Carolina were recognized this year – Greenville Technical College, Clemson University, and the University of South Carolina. Only five other community colleges received the award this year, all except GTC located outside South Carolina.
Since the award was established in 2012, a total of approximately 150 colleges, universities, and law schools including ivy league institutions have been honored, some multiple times. Greenville Technical College first received the HEED award in 2014, making this the second time the institution has been named a HEED award recipient.
“It is an honor to receive recognition for the important work we are doing in the realm of diversity and inclusion,” said Dr. Keith Miller, president of Greenville Technical College. “Our aim is to make our five campuses welcoming environments in which all students and staff feel safe, included, and valued.”
INSIGHT Into Diversity magazine selected Greenville Technical College for the efforts the college is making to recruit, support, and graduate historically underrepresented groups, including first-generation students. Other accomplishments leading to the award include efforts to increase the diversity of faculty and staff, efforts to draw from a diverse base of vendors, a civility training program offered to all employees every other year, multicultural branding and communication techniques, and programs that lead to cultural competence for graduates as they prepare to become part of a global workforce.
“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 holistic 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 accomplished every day across their campus.”