September 8, 2020, Santa Rosa, CA —Santa Rosa Junior College (SRJC) received the 2020 Higher Education Excellence in Diversity (HEED) Award from INSIGHT Into Diversity magazine, the oldest and largest diversity-focused publication in higher education. As a recipient of the annual HEED Award — a national honor recognizing U.S. colleges and universities that demonstrate an outstanding commitment to diversity and inclusion — SRJC will be featured, along with 89 other recipients, in the November 2020 issue of INSIGHT Into Diversity magazine. This is the second year SRJC has been named as a HEED Award recipient.

SRJC President Dr. Frank Chong said that diversity and inclusion are key tenets of SRJC’s overall mission. “While this recognition demonstrates the enormous progress we’ve made, we continue to work every day to build a more diverse and inclusive workplace. The diversity of our employees, students, and community are part of what makes SRJC a great place to work and to learn,” he said.

INSIGHT Into Diversity magazine selected SRJC partially because of its hiring and outreach practices, which include:

• A commitment to diversity in the screening and interviewing process - The Equal Employment Opportunity Advisory Committee (EEOAC) in consultation with the Academic Senate recently revised the diversity prompt stated in job announcements for employment opportunities. To assess a candidate’s sensitivity to, and understanding of, the diverse academic, socioeconomic, cultural, disability, and ethnic backgrounds of community college students, each candidate who applies for employment at the district must respond to the diversity prompt with their employment application and describe how they have demonstrated sensitivity to, and respect for, diverse populations.
   
• Monitoring hiring data -To continually improve faculty and staff diversity, applicant and employee demographic data is consistently monitored. Data from 2019/20 is being analyzed to strategize on how to increase the rate of selection for future faculty of color.
   
• Hiring orientations - Hiring orientations have been revised significantly to include more detailed information on law/regulations affecting hiring decisions as well as other important topics related to fair hiring practices, such as understanding unconscious bias, developing behavioral-based assessment tools, and other guidance for hiring committees.
   
• Recruitment advertising and outreach - SRJC advertises all external recruitments in a wide variety of sources to attract a diverse pool of candidates for employment opportunities including Insight Into Diversity Job Board, Handshake, and Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). The college has participated in the California Community Colleges Faculty and Staff Diversity Registry Job Fairs nearly every year for the past 20 years.

“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.”

For more information about the 2020 HEED Award, visit insightintodiversity.com. For more information about SRJC, visit www.santarosa.edu.

About INSIGHT Into Diversity

INSIGHT Into Diversity magazine is the oldest and largest diversity publication in higher education today and is well-known for its annual Higher Education Excellence in Diversity (HEED) Award, the only award recognizing colleges and universities for outstanding diversity and inclusion efforts across their campuses. In addition to its online job board, INSIGHT Into Diversity presents timely, thought-provoking news and feature stories on matters of diversity and inclusion across higher education and beyond. Articles include interviews with innovators and experts, as well as profiles of best practices and exemplary programs. Readers will also discover career opportunities that connect job seekers with institutions and businesses that embrace a diverse and inclusive workforce. Current, archived, and digital issues of INSIGHT Into Diversity magazine are available online at insightintodiversity.com.