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Four University of Illinois faculty and staff members will be recognized for their exceptional dedication to and success in promoting diversity and inclusion as the 2019 recipients of the Larine Y. Cowan Make A Difference Awards. This year’s recipients include:

Advocacy for LGBTQ Affairs

Amy L. Powell, Krannert Art Museum, for sustained action to bring forward LGBTQ voices in her work as Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art and commitment to supporting lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and Queer (LGBTQ) affairs at Illinois.

Excellence in Access and Accommodations

M.T. Hudson, Office for Access & Equity, for a career dedicated to expanding and improving the utilization of programs by persons with disabilities and advocacy to ensure access for all students, faculty, and staff to the opportunities available to them.

Teaching and Mentoring in Diversity

Monika Stodolska, Department of Recreation, Sport & Tourism, for impact on undergraduate and graduate student learning and dedication to interdisciplinary teaching and research on issues related to race, ethnicity, immigration, gender, disability, and leisure.

Leadership in Diversity

Ruby Mendenhall, Departments of Sociology, African American Studies, Urban and Regional Planning, and Social Work, for innovative research focused on the core processes through which race and social structures affect economic, educational, and holistic health outcomes for African American communities. Mendenhall is Assistant Dean for Diversity and Democratization of Health Innovation at the Carle Illinois College of Medicine.

Named in honor of the past Assistant Chancellor and Director of what would become the Office for Access & Equity, the Larine Y. Cowan Awards were created to reflect the commitment to human rights advocacy, social justice, and diversity that defined her leadership for nearly 20 years at Illinois.

This year’s award recipients will be honored at the 34^th Annual Celebration of Diversity, Friday, November 8, 2019 at the I Hotel.

Sean C. Garrick, currently the associate vice provost in the Office for Equity and Diversity at the University of Minnesota, will become the vice chancellor for diversity, equity and inclusion at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign effective Aug. 1, pending approval by the University of Illinois Board of Trustees. Garrick will be the first person to hold this new senior-level position at Illinois.

During a national recruitment process, Garrick showed potential to identify and pursue opportunities for education, reconciliation, restoration and cultural transformation at Illinois. In addition to leading the newly established Office of the Vice Chancellor for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, Garrick also will serve on the chancellor’s leadership team, providing vision and advice on diversity and social justice issues.

The 2017-2018 Diversity, Equity & Inclusion report is a brief departure from the format of the past, which highlighted the multitude of diversity, equity and inclusion efforts from across the entire campus. This year the focus of the report is on the development of the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Diversity, Equity & Inclusion. With the establishment of this office and renewed partnerships from across the entire campus, future reports will again showcase the excellent work happening in colleges and units, at the Illinois system level and across the Big Ten to achieve Inclusive Excellence at Illinois.

Illinois is being recognized by INSIGHT Into Diversity magazine as a recipient of their 2018 Higher Education Excellence in Diversity (HEED) Award. The HEED Award is the only national recognition honoring colleges and universities that exhibit outstanding efforts and success in the area of diversity and inclusion throughout their campuses. View the news release.

The Gender Equity Council has updated the Women at Illinois brochure. View the brochure.