Nomination Applications Deadline: Monday, March 8th, 2021 | Click HERE to Apply!
The Diversity Catalyst Awards were created by the Office of Equal Opportunity & Diversity in the Division of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion to honor faculty, staff, students, programs, departments, and/or student organizations at the University of Iowa who have engaged in diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives during the previous academic year that have served to promote the development of an inclusive and diverse campus community.
The University of Iowa's commitment to a welcoming and inclusive campus is embedded in policy, practices, values and mission. The Diversity Catalyst Award recognizes the excellence, innovative and distinctive inclusion efforts of campus constituents.
We welcome all UI community members to nominate their peers for this prestigious award, and encourage department administrators to consider nominating those in their unit who have received other diversity awards over the past year.
Diversity Catalyst Awards Information
Award Information
Recipients of the Diversity Catalyst Awards will receive a one-time monetary award and an engraved trophy to commemorate and celebrate their accomplishments.
Who is eligible to receive a Diversity Catalyst Award?
University of Iowa faculty, staff, graduate students, undergraduate students, and postdocs are eligible to be nominated for the Diversity Catalyst Awards.
Requirements
Primary Criteria
The recipients of the Diversity Catalyst Awards are exceptional community members who fit the following criteria:
- The nominee has developed or implemented an innovative program, policy, or activity to enhance diversity, equity, and/or inclusion within the university;
- The nominee's contributions are distinctive and have a positive effect on building respect for diversity, equity, and inclusion within the university community;
- The nominee has gone above and beyond his/her job responsibilities.
Additional Criteria
A nominee who exemplifies characteristics that are innovative should:
- be creative and unique;
- introduce something new to the campus;
- approach their task with a new perspective that results in new outcomes.
A nominee who exemplifies the characteristics of distinctiveness should:
- be readily distinguishable in nature and quality from others;
- exhibit excellence in process and outcome.
A nominee who has enhanced diversity, equity, and inclusion within the university and/or has a positive effect on building respect for diversity, equity, and inclusion within the university community should:
- identify issues of importance to the creation of a diverse, inclusive university community as envisioned in the UI Human Rights Policy;
- have the potential to effect or implement long-standing change, rather than a one-time event;
- enhance the University of Iowa's diversity goals as stated in 2019-2021 Excellence through Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Action Plan.
How to Apply or Nominate
In order to nominate a person or group for the Diversity Catalyst Awards, the nominator will need to submit the following items:
- Submit 2021 Online Nomination Form
- Email Letter(s) of Support (max 2) to diversity-resources@uiowa.edu
2021 Online Nomination Form
The nomination form can be found online by clicking here.
When completing the form, you will need to:
- provide specific contact information of each person involved in the nomination, such as the name, title, department/organization, email, and phone of the nominee, nominator, etc.
- name up to 2 individuals who are supporting the nomination via a letter of support
- clearly demonstrate the nominee's contributions and qualifications in the nomination statement (a portion of the online form) or the letters of support by giving specific examples to describe how the candidate meets the Diversity Catalyst Award criteria.
Nominators are encouraged to provide a statement of nomination in the text box provided within the online form in addition to the letters of support.
Letters of Support
The specifications for the letters of support are as follows:
- These letters need to be sent as PDFs or Word documents to diversity-resources@uiowa.edu after the online form is submitted and prior to the stated deadline to be considered.
- The person completing the online nomination form can be one of the two people to write a letter of support and/or can provide an additional nomination statement via email, if one was not provided in the text box while filling out the online form.
- No more than three letters total, including the statement of nomination, will be accepted per nomination. In instances where multiple submissions for the same nominee occur by separate nominators, each complete nomination submission will be reviewed and considered separately, and not combined.
A campus-wide committee of peers will review the nominations and determine this year's recipients.
Timeline
Nomination Applications due: Monday, March 8th, 2021, 11:59p.m. (CST)
Award Recipients and Nominators to be notified: Friday, March 19th, 2021
Virtual Reception Ceremony: Wednesday, April 21st, 2021
Annual Awards Reception
Every year, the Division for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion hosts the Diversity Catalyst Award Reception. This is an opportunity for our whole UI community to come together and celebrate the incredible achievements of the past academic year.
This year's Diversity Catalyst Awards Reception will take place on Wednesday, April 21st. More information about the virtual event will be released later on in the semester.
We are excited to celebrate not only the recipients of the Diversity Catalyst Awards, but also the recipients of the Diversity Catalyst Seed Grant, the Alliant Energy and Erroll B. Davis Jr. Achievement Award, and the B.U.I.L.D. Certificate. You can find more information about the awards, grants, and certificates in the links below.
Reception Information
This event has historically been held in-person, but has since transitioned to be in a virtual format for the time being.
During this event, we invite keynote speakers to give an address about current topics of diversity, equity, and inclusion that are salient to the University of Iowa.
Following words of welcome and keynote addresses, we recognize and celebrate those who have been presented with an award, scholarship, or honor during this academic year. Specifically, we name and celebrate this year's recipients of:
- Diversity Catalyst Awards (Individual and Group)
- Alliant Energy & Erroll B. Davis, Jr., Achievement Award
- Diversity Catalyst Seed Grant
- B.U.I.L.D. Certificates
Individuals with disabilities are encouraged to attend all University of Iowa-sponsored events. If you are a person with a disability who requires a reasonable accommodation in order to participate in this program, please contact Diversity Resources at diversity-resources@uiowa.edu.
Please let us know if there are any accommodations that would increase the accessibility and enjoyment of the virtual Diversity Catalyst Awards.
Point of Contact
Steven Edwards
Assistant Director, Diversity Resources
Division of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion | University of Iowa
Ph: 319-383-2388 | Email: steven-edwards@uiowa.edu
Previous Recipients
Over the past 20 years, there have been many people, programs, and organizations honored by the various iterations of the Diversity Catalyst Awards. There are a couple of categories of awards, some of which have had slight shifts in their name. We've included a brief description of the major differences to help contextualize the past recipient's accomplishments. Diversity Catalyst Awards can be given to faculty, staff, students, departments, groups, and/or student organizations, and the title of the award will reflect the recipients' title or role at the time of receiving the award. Generally, those who receive a Diversity Catalyst Award do not have positions where diversity, equity, and inclusion work explicitly makes up most of their job description. In the cases of truly exceptional performance within the field of diversity, equity, and inclusion, a Diversity Practitioner Award is bestowed upon the recipient.
If you would like to learn more about the past recipients of the Alliant Energy and Erroll B. Davis Jr. Achievement Award, please click here. If you would like to learn more about the past grants from the Diversity Seed Grant, please click here. If you have any questions, please email us at diversity-resources@uiowa.edu.
Past Awardees
View the landing page for the 2020 Catalyst Awards!
Individual Faculty/Staff Awards
Donna Hammond, Carver College of Medicine
Antentor Hinton Jr., Carver College of Medicine
Department/Group Awards
Iowa Youth Writing Project, Magid Center for Undergraduate Writing
Student Organization Awards
Our Collective Brain, Psychological and Brain Sciences
Individual Diversity Practitioner Awards
Talinda Pettigrew, Talent Acquisition, University Human Resources
Group Diversity Practitioner Awards
Multicultural and International Student Support and Engagement (MISSE) Team, Division of Student Life
Individual Faculty/Staff Awards
Aniruddha Dutta, Gender, Women's & Sexuality Studies and Asian & Slavic Languages and Literatures
Diane Finnerty, Office of the Executive Vice President and ProvostJodi Graff, Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies, Carver College of Medicine
Michelle McQuistan, Preventative and Community Dentistry
Individual Student Awards
Taha Gesalla, Minority Association of Pre-medical Students (MAPS)
Department/Group Awards
Tippie Gateway and BizEdge, Henry B. Tippie College of Business
Individual Faculty/Staff Awards
Nkanyezi Ferguson, MD, clinical assistant professor, Department of Dermatology, Carver College of Medicine
Barbara Baquero, PhD, MPH, assistant professor in Community and Behavioral Health, and deputy director of the UI Prevention Research Center, College of Public Health
Tracy R. Peterson, director of Diversity and K-12 Outreach the College of Engineering
Individual Student Awards
Lilián M. Sánchez Garcia, fourth-year undergraduate student and student body vice president, University of Iowa Student Government
Department/Group Awards
Hawkeye Accessibility Ambassador Program
Individual Faculty/Staff Awards
Gabby Blanchard, Police Officer, UI Public Safety
Amy Lee, Ph.D., Professor, Department of Molecular Physiology and Biophysics and Assistant Dean for Research, Carver College of Medicine
Denise Martinez, M.D., Assistant Dean for Cultural Affairs and Diversity Initiatives, Carver College of Medicine
Kirk Corey, Ph.D. and Todd M. Weissenberger, Information Technology Services
Individual Student Awards
Dawson Davenport, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences
Individual Faculty/Staff Awards
Lan Samantha Chang, M.F.A., Director, Iowa Writer’s Workshop
Jason Daniel-Ulloa, MPH Ph.D., Assistant Research Scientist, Community and Behavioral Health, College of Public Health
Michael Hill, Ph.D., Associate Professor, English and African American Studies, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
Tina Tootle, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Anatomy and Cell Biology, Carver College of Medicine
Individual Student Awards
Cindy Ann Kilgo, Ph.D., Higher Education and Student Affairs, College of Education
Distinguished Catalyst Award Recognition
Valerie S. Garr, Diversity and Supplemental Instruction Coordinator, College of Nursing
Individual Faculty/Staff Awards
Jennifer Blair, Assistant Director for Global Community Engagement, Tippie College of Business
Robin Clark-Bennett, Labor Educator, Labor Center
Malik S. Henfield, Ph.D., Associate Professor and Program Coordinator, School Counseling and Counselor Education and Supervision, College of Education
Jefri L. Palermo, Development Specialist, School of Social Work
Individual Student Awards
Tawanda Carson Owens, Ph.D., Afro American Cultural Center Manager
Individual Faculty/Staff Awards
Motier F. Haskins, MSW, Clinical Assistant Professor, School of Social Work
David M. Lubaroff, Ph.D., Associate Director, Holden Comprehensive Cancer Center and Professor, Departments of Urology and Microbiology
Individual Student Awards
Michael Considine, Senior Airman, 185th Air National Guard in Sioux City, IA and President, University of Iowa Veterans’ Association
Anthony Ferguson, Jr., Assistant District Director, Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. and President and Founder- Young, Black, and Educated
Department/Group Awards
Division of Student Life Multicultural Work Group
Individual Faculty/Staff Awards
Brad M. Brunick, Psy.D., Staff Psychologist, University Counseling Service
Jake Christensen, B.A., Senior Admission Counselor, Office of Admissions
Katie Imborek, M.D., and Nicole L. Nisly, M.D., co-Directors, Iowa River Landing LGBTQ Clinic, University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics
Tonya Peeples, Ph.D., Professor, Chemical and Biochemical Engineering/Director, Ethnic Inclusion Effort for Iowa Engineering, University of Iowa College of Engineering
Individual Student Awards
Sauvik Goswami, University of Iowa Student Government
Individual Faculty/Staff Awards
Michael Anderson, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Interdisciplinary Graduate Program in Genetics/Molecular Physiology and Biophysics, College of Medicine
Daniel F. Eberl, Ph.D., Professor, Biology and Otolaryngology, and Director of the Interdisciplinary Graduate Program in Genetics, College of Medicine
Patrick A. Dolan, Jr., Ph.D., Lecturer, Rhetoric Department
Individual Student Awards
Stef shuster, M.A., Sociology
Kyla R. Djannie, College of Law and Darcelle A. Skeete, College of Law
Distinguished Catalyst Award Recognition
Leonard Sandler, J.D., Clinical Professor of Law, College of Law
Individual Faculty/Staff Awards
Kathryn Chaloner, Professor, Department of Biostatistics, College of Public Health
Individual Faculty/Staff Awards
Thomas Weingeist, M.D., Ph.D., Chair, Department of Ophthalmology, University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics
Individual Student Awards
Theodore J. Patton, College of Law
Department/Group Awards
REACH: Realizing Educational and Career Hopes
Student Organization Awards
Engineers Without Borders
Individual Diversity Practitioner Awards
Helen Park Jameson, Office of International Students and Scholars
We are currently updating our records and confirming information. Thank you for your patience!
Individual Faculty/Staff Awards
John Achrazoglou, Director, Educational Technology Center, College of Education
Individual Student Awards
Jimmy Reyes, College of Nursing
Department/Group Awards
Iowa Edge, Program Initiative Award
Women's Resource and Action Center (WRAC)
Individual Faculty/Staff Awards
Rachel Garza Carreon, Outreach, Recruitment & Research Librarian, University Libraries
Kathleen Kemp, Program Administrator & Admissions Coordinator, School of Social Work
Individual Student Awards
Katie Imborek, Carver College of Medicine Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual orgainization MEDIQS
Department/Group Awards
Women in Science & Engineering (WISE) Graduate/Postdoctoral Workshop Series
Distinguished Catalyst Award Recognition
Willie 'Fred' Mims, Associate Director of Athletics for Student Services and Compliance, Department of Intercollegiate Athletics
Individual Faculty/Staff Awards
Judie Hermsen, Senior Assistant Director, University Human Resources
Vanessa Shelton, Director, IHSPA/Summer Journalism Workshops, School of Journalism and Mass Communications
Individual Student Awards
Amina Mahmood, Department of Psychological and Quantitative Foundation
Student Organization Awards
Partners for Success, Carver College of Medicine Student National Medical Association (SNMA) Mentoring Program
Individual Faculty/Staff Awards
Carolyn Colvin, Associate Dean, College of Education
Tess Judge-Ellis, Clinical Assistant Professor, College of Nursing
Department/Group Awards
Power Plant Diversity Task Force
Student Organization Awards
UI Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender and Allied Union (GLBTAU)
Individual Faculty/Staff Awards
Victor Rodgers, Professor, College of Engineering
Individual Student Awards
Amber Keller, Carver College of Medicine
Department/Group Awards
Men in Nursing Task Force, College of Nursing
Student Organization Awards
Indian Cultural Association
Individual Faculty/Staff Awards
Diana Davies, Director, International Programs
Adrienne Drapkin, Director, Medical Museum
Department/Group Awards
Philip G. Hubbard Law School Preparation Program
Individual Faculty/Staff Awards
Barbara Muller, Associate Professor, Internal Medicine, Carver College of Medicine
Virginia Woodard, Office of Student Affairs and Curriculum, Carver College of Medicine
Department/Group Awards
Iowa Biosciences Advantage Program
School of Social Work
Individual Faculty/Staff Awards
Akwasi Agyeman Boateng, Supervisor, Food and Nutrition Services, UI Hospitals and Clinics
Eugene Madison, Professor, Department of Mathematics
Department/Group Awards
Department of Theatre Arts
Individual Faculty/Staff Awards
Raul Curto, Executive Associate Dean, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
Mickey Eliason, Associate Professor, College of Nursing
Department/Group Awards
Graduate College
Individual Faculty/Staff Award
Billie Townsend, Liberal Arts and Sciences Administration
Department/Group Awards
Department of Mathematics