UAlbany Receives Eighth Consecutive Higher Education Excellence and Distinction Award

ALBANY, N.Y. (Oct. 1, 2025) — For the eighth consecutive year, the University at Albany received the Higher Education Excellence and Distinction (HEED) Award from INSIGHT Into Academia magazine, the oldest and largest diversity-focused publication in higher education. The national honor recognizes U.S. colleges and universities that demonstrate an outstanding commitment to diversity and inclusion. 

“It is an incredible honor for UAlbany to be recognized for our continued commitment to the support and care we offer our students, including the innovative ways that we create and maintain opportunities for academic and personal growth,” said Samuel Caldwell, vice president for inclusive excellence and equity. “We're grateful to Insight into Academia for recognizing our commitment to build an inclusive campus where equity, open dialogue and civic responsibility are central to everything we do. As one of the nation’s leading and most diverse Research 1 universities, this award is a powerful reflection of UAlbany’s values and ongoing focus on excellence and inclusion.”

A key component to fostering a welcoming and inclusive environment is the University’s Inclusive Excellence Awards, which funds faculty and staff-led programs that strengthen, promote and embrace a rich and collaborative environment at the University. Projects funded in 2025 include:  

• Dancing, Discussing and Furthering Excellence, Inclusiveness and Diversity: An opportunity for students to come together to create collective dance and discussions on diversity and inclusion, led by UAlbany’s Dance Council and in collaboration with elementary school students.
• Fostering a Gender-Affirming Dialogue: This writing and critical inquiry program builds on previous efforts to create an inclusive space for transgender, non-binary, and gender-diverse communities by hosting workshops and a keynote address on the intersection of gender, sexuality and race.
• Reimagining Justice: This event will provide an opportunity for the UAlbany community to engage in critical conversations about race, gender and social justice through the lens of Black feminist thought, led by renowned Brazilian intellectual Djamila Ribeiro.
• We Came to Heal: Transformative Justice and the Carceral System: Hosted by UAlbany NAACP and the UAlbany South American Students' Association, the program will feature a film screening and post-film workshop, which will examine mass incarceration, systemic racism and the impact of restorative justice, with an emphasis on healing and transformation.

The University’s commitment to offering students, faculty and staff opportunities to learn from one another was further supported by UAlbany’s annual Great Dane Dialogue held this fall. The initiative promotes civil discourse and dialogue and celebrates free speech, which are foundational to scholarly inquiry and higher education. Featuring conversations with local leaders, elected officials and alumni that focus on public service, civic engagement and civil discourse.  

The University also has garnered national recognition for the support it provides its diverse student body, ranked this year as a top school for raising the social mobility of its students by U. S. News & World Report, Washington Monthly and Money.com.

“We take a detailed and somewhat holistic approach to reviewing each application in determining who will be named a Health Professions HEED Award recipient. Our standards are high, and we look for institutions where academic excellence and belonging are woven into the work being done every day across their campus,” said Lenore Pearlstein, co-publisher of Insight into Academia magazine.