By Leyla Salmassi, PSO DEI Committee Member and PSO Past President, and Tiana R. Cole & Russell Hugo, PSO DEI Committee Members.
We’re pleased to announce the 2023 Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging (DEIB) Excellence Award which seeks to highlight Professional Staff currently working at the University of Washington at our Seattle, Tacoma or Bothell campuses, including UW Medicine. Nominees include those who have demonstrated a deep commitment to the advancement of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging work directly within the UW and/or their local communities. Awardees center the voices of marginalized communities, place advancing racial, social and economic justice at the core of their work, and seek to transform longstanding systems to improve the outcomes of historically disenfranchised individuals.
We intend for this new award to honor and celebrate the tangible efforts of our University of Washington community to remedy systemic inequities and increase accessibility for students, staff and faculty. It serves as a representation of the collaborative relationships within our local communities to work in sight of the public good. The UW serves as a pillar among higher education institutions across the globe to advance diversity, equity and inclusion work. The UW community casts an impact that extends beyond the boundaries of our campus to uplift underrepresented groups and create spaces in which they can thrive. While this award serves as a moment to identify the progress made in respect to DEIB on our campus and local communities, we understand that this work is never fully finished; it requires a lifelong commitment to anti-racism and the incorporation of intersectionality in our decision-making.
On behalf of the PSO DEI Committee, we’re excited to offer this award to Professional Staff who embody the University’s value of excellence and continuously strive to create a diverse campus climate, forging pathways for others to follow in their footsteps. Further information describing evaluation criteria is listed below.
Eligibility Requirements:
- Nominees must be professional staff at the grade of 10 and below, who have been with the UW in a professional staff role for at least 6 months.
- Individuals may nominate themselves. Nominations also may be made by members of the UW community.
- Entries must be received by April 15, 2023.
Nominate and recognize a colleague who has gone above and beyond to help advance DEIB on our campuses using the Staff DEIB Excellence Award Nomination form. We look forward to learning more about all of the DEIB work being done at UW!
If you would like to support the longevity of this award, please contribute a gift to the PSO