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Diversity in the Classroom Award 

For questions or concerns, please contact Shelby Scrivner. This award is given by the College of Humanities and Social Sciences Diversity Advisory Board on a competitive basis. Winners will receive an honorarium of $500 for professional development from the college and will be recognized at the annual HSS Honors Convocation.

Award Criteria

The Diversity in the Classroom Award may be awarded to HSS faculty who, in a given HSS course, excelled in any or all of the following areas:

  • demonstrating inclusive teaching philosophies and practices;
  • consistently incorporating diversity into their curriculum;
  • enhancing students’ understanding of diversity broadly in terms of race, ethnicity, gender, nationality, ability, age, religion, region, sexuality, class, etc.;
  • maintaining a comfortable classroom atmosphere that helps students express diverse views; and
  • encouraging learning about and appreciating diversity beyond the classroom.

Guidelines for Supporting Materials

Nominees for the Diversity in the Classroom Award are requested to submit a short (maximum 500 words) narrative (1-2 pages) summarizing how their teaching addresses the relevant criteria. Nominees should also update their CV in Digital Measures and can upload up to two supporting documents in Digital Measures by the submission deadline. 


*Courses in HSS include those taught in …

  • Africana Studies (AFS)
  • Anthropology (ANT)
  • Asian Studies (ASIA)
  • Chinese (CHIN)
  • Communication Studies (COMM)
  • Criminal Justice (CRJ)
  • Economics (ECON)
  • English (ENG)
  • Environmental & Sustainability Studies (ENST)
  • Film (FILM)
  • Foreign Language (FL)
  • French (FR)
  • Gender Studies (GNDR)
  • Geography (GEOG)
  • German (GER)
  • History (HIST)
  • Humanities (HUM)
  • Japanese (JAPN)
  • Journalism and Media Studies (JMS)
  • Leadership Studies (LEAD)
  • Mexican American Studies (MAS)
  • Multicultural Studies (MCS)
  • Life of the Mind (MIND)
  • Philosophy (PHIL)
  • Political Science (PSCI)
  • Social Science (SOSC)
  • Sociology (SOC)
  • Spanish (SPAN)

Members of the HSS Awards Committee are not eligible for nominations. Members include: Dennis Aguirre, Brook Blair, Mary Evans, Jeri Kraver, Harmony Newman, and Kyle Ward. Past winners will not be eligible to receive the Diversity in the Classroom Award within 4 years of winning previous award. Past winners include Whitney Duncan (2018-2019), Corey Evans (2019-2020), and Karla del Carpio Ovando (2020-2021). The Diversity in the Classroom Award went unawarded 2021-2022. GA’s & TA’s are not eligible to receive the award.