Today, Towson University announces its receipt of the 2024 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—Towson University will be featured, along with 113 other recipients, in the November/December 2024 issue of the magazine.

This is the fifth consecutive year TU has been named as a HEED Award recipient.

“Towson University is proud to serve as a national leader for advancing inclusive excellence and promoting the diversity of our university community,” says TU President Mark Ginsberg. “Every member of our TU community is important to and for our university and must be valued and respected. We strive to ensure that every Towson Tiger is committed to the standard for inclusive excellence for which TU is known.”

Insight Into Diversity magazine selected Towson University because it continuously demonstrates an outstanding commitment to diversity and inclusion. Creating a more diverse and inclusive campus is a priority for TU and is linked to and aligned with its strategic plan, for the express purpose of building a stronger foundation for a promising future.

TU's strategic plan now includes its diversity strategic plan, A More Inclusive TU: Advancing Equity and Diversity (2020–25).

“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—leadership support for diversity, campus culture and climate, supplier diversity and many other aspects of campus diversity and inclusion,” says 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 2024 HEED Award, visit insightintodiversity.com.

For media inquiries, please contact Jamie Abell at .

About Towson University

Towson University is Maryland’s university of opportunities. With more than 150 years of experience pushing possibilities, TU is a nationally recognized leader in inclusive excellence, social mobility, research and discovery. As the largest university in greater Baltimore, TU’s momentum is always accelerating, with more than 20,000 students and 100 bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degree programs in the liberal arts and sciences and applied professional fields.

Located amid one of the East Coast’s cultural and economic epicenters, TU is a beacon and powerful catalyst in the Mid-Atlantic, partnering with hundreds of businesses and organizations, impacting communities and fueling change.

TU meets the holistic needs of each student to achieve success, a result of a deeply inclusive culture with a focus on equity among all students, faculty and staff.

About Insight Into Diversity

Into Diversity magazine is the leader in advancing best practices in DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion) in higher education. Through thought-provoking print and online articles, we share expert advice, valuable resources, in-depth profiles of top DEI programs at colleges and universities, headline news, and much more to help keep our readers informed and empower them to advance DEI initiatives at their institutions.

To further our mission, we created the Insight Into Diversity Higher Education Excellence in Diversity (HEED) Award in 2012. The HEED Award — including the more targeted Insight Into Diversity Health Professions, Law School, and Community College HEED Awards — is the only national honor to recognize institutions of higher education for their outstanding commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion. Current, archived, and digital issues of Insight Into Diversity magazine are available online at insightintodiversity.com.

Tags: Campus Announcements, Diversity Equity and Inclusion