DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION AWARDS
Honorees help create equitable, respectful environment
East Carolina University’s Diversity and Inclusion awards reflect the importance of creating an equitable and respectful environment among faculty, staff and students.
Under the guidance of LaKesha Alston Forbes, associate provost for equity and diversity, the university community continues to embrace this effort and recognize the outstanding performers among us.
“The call to move beyond words and statements to commitment, accountability and action has been reverberating all year,” said Forbes. “We received so many great nominations for deserving faculty, staff and students who are making a difference within their spheres of influence by not only speaking up and out, but by taking action for a more diverse, equitable and inclusive ECU. The awards committee selected some of our most active and constant champions for diversity and inclusion. Congratulations to our award winners and all of our nominees.”
(Video by Rich Klindworth)
Visit this video on YouTube for closed captioning.
This year, the Office for Equity and Diversity recognized four notable recipients of the Diversity and Inclusion Awards in the areas of diversity, inclusion and leadership. These annual awards recognize demonstrated significant achievements of faculty, staff and students, or groups within the university. The awards complement the development of a university community that is culturally diverse and reflective of inclusive excellence.
To qualify, the recipients must have contributed to diversity and inclusion through one or more areas such as exemplary leadership, curriculum development, teaching, research or recruitment, outreach and retention efforts for employees. They must also exhibit behavior that illustrates commitment to inclusion and respect of persons within the institution who are members of traditionally underrepresented, underserved and diverse groups.
The 2021 Diversity and Inclusion awards recipients are:
Faculty: Dr. Sambuddha Banerjee
Dr. Sambuddha Banerjee, teaching assistant professor in the Department of Chemistry, was named the faculty recipient of the Diversity and Inclusion Award. Banerjee is credited with a genuine passion to inspire and educate students. Their commitment to developing the student as a whole person is evident in their constant work on co- and extra-curricular activities.
“I see diversity and inclusion work as verbs, where intentional and continuous efforts take into account the complexity and multidimensional nature of our societies,” said Banerjee.
Staff: Nicole Ianieri
The staff honoree was Nicole Ianieri, director of the ECU Language Academy. She is credited with making great strides in supporting international students by fostering their English language development as well as their cultural acclimation.
“I am committed to upholding social justice, equity and inclusion on ECU’s campus and beyond,” Ianieri said. “I believe that our diversity is our strength; our differences are what bring us together. By valuing, uplifting and honoring these differences, we move toward a better understanding of what we, in fact, have in common.”
Student: Michael Denning
Michael Denning received the Diversity and Inclusion Award in the student category. Denning, a first-year medical student in the Brody School of Medicine, plans to become a child abuse pediatrician or pediatric surgeon.
He worked as the Diversity and Inclusion Graduate Assistant for the ECU Honors College, where he developed and led the university-wide student diversity council, organized Pirates Treasure Diversity academic day, held several mentorship and educational activities geared toward minority students, developed a five-year strategic plan focused on diversity and inclusion, and ultimately, increased underrepresented minority student population within the college by 2% in one year.
Academic Unit: School of Theatre and Dance
The academic unit award recipient is the School of Theatre and Dance (SOTD) in recognition of its noteworthy efforts in addressing and raising awareness about issues of equity, diversity and inclusion within their academic disciplines, across our campus and in our community.
“I formed and charged the SOTD Diversity and Inclusion Action Committee, composed of faculty, staff and students, to define our equity initiatives,” SOTD Director Jayme Host said. “The committee actively seeks equitable representation in our academic unit and creates a more holistic and fully representative narrative in our degree programs, our productions and community engagement.”
The School of Theatre and Dance was the academic unit award recipient. (Photo by Cliff Hollis)