SUFFERN, NY – Rockland Community College has been selected as a 2021 Higher Education Excellence in Diversity (HEED) Award winner from INSIGHT Into Diversity magazine, the nation’s oldest and largest diversity-focused publication in higher education. This national honor recognizes US colleges and universities that demonstrate an outstanding commitment to diversity and inclusion. RCC will be featured, along with 100 other recipients, in the November 2021 issue of INSIGHT Into Diversity magazine. This is the first time RCC has been named as a HEED Award recipient.

“Diversity reflects an appreciation and respect for the unique gifts and talents in all of us,” said RCC President Dr. Michael A. Baston. “To close equity gaps, community colleges must first offer a safe and welcoming environment. Then we can create strategic partnerships between the college and the community and take advantage of our organizational resources and collaborative leadership to ensure equitable opportunities and outcomes for all our students.”

“Last year RCC started developing an actionable plan by establishing a working group to review the legacy of diversity efforts led by the College’s former Diversity Council and to build on their outcomes to reflect current realities. We are now developing a new college-wide plan that incorporates those recommendations with recommendations from all areas of the College. The new plan will include specific outcomes that are measurable using key performance indicators to be reported on an equity
scorecard,” stated Melissa L. Roy, Chief Diversity Officer for RCC.

“The HEED Award process consists of a comprehensive and rigorous application that includes questions relating to the recruitment and retention of students and employees — and best practices for both — continued leadership support for diversity, and other aspects of campus diversity and inclusion,” said Lenore Pearlstein, publisher of INSIGHT Into Diversity magazine. “We take a detailed approach to reviewing each application in deciding who will be named a HEED Award recipient. Our standards are high, and we look for institutions where diversity and inclusion are woven into the work being done
every day across their campus.”