Welcome to the Western Illinois University President's Excellence in Diversity Awards
2021 virtual program. I'm Guiyou Huang, president of WIU, and we're so pleased
to be here today this program is designed to recognize our colleagues across the university
as well as members of our local community for their efforts to ensure diversity, equity
and inclusion on our campuses and in our local communities. I've recently started my tenure as
Western's 12th president and in the three months I have been a part of the Leatherneck family
I have witnessed the commitment and dedication of our talented students,
faculty and staff as well as our partners in our local communities to create, support and lead
change. Today we celebrate those individuals who have gone above and beyond and to these
individuals recognized today, I thank you for your commitment your dedication and your
efforts. I'd like now to turn the program over to Dr. Sterling Saddler, assistant to
the president for diversity and inclusion who will provide our opening remarks. Thank you.
It is a great pleasure to join you today in recognizing outstanding members of our
campus and local communities who are invested in creating supporting and promoting diversity and
inclusion initiatives at Western Illinois University. The President's Excellence in
Diversity Awards provide an opportunity to champion those individuals who have committed
their leadership, define education and engaged in service and often unrecognized and often not
compensated for the ongoing improvement and growth of our institution we celebrate your
contributions we share your passions and we look forward to a brighter future for all our students
faculty and staff without further delay I'd like to introduce our first presenter.
At Western Illinois University we recognize individuals who have gone above and beyond their
responsibilities to provide a welcoming and inclusive environment for everyone
this year's Promotion of Diversity award goes to a candidate who has mentored students through all of
his years teaching at WIU he assists students in adapting to the pressures of academic life
and graduating in a timely manner and in transitioning to professional careers
this candidate also devotes time to providing services to non-English-speaking community members
additionally this candidate exposes his students to multiculturalism from his own international
experiences and travels with study abroad trips his nominator said this about the winner
"as an immigrant to the U.S. and of African birth he is a positive embodiment of diversity
he uses his experiences as an educational as well as a recruitment tool
making WIU a better place please join me in congratulating Dr. Edmund Asare
as the winner of the 2021 WIU General Promotion of Diversity award.
the Leadership award recognizes individuals in leadership roles that develop initiatives that
enhance and further diversity goals this year's recipient has made a big impact on the students
who've had the privilege of getting to know her as a teaching support assistant in computer science
a leader in the Redeemed Students Fellowship a go-getter for the National Society of Black
Engineers and as the person to turn to for help when in need this candidate is described
by nominators as "a passionate and inspiring leader a role model a person who's helped so many
international students to settle in adjust to and thrive at WIU." please join me in congratulating
Joyce Ofili as the recipient of the 2021 President's Excellence in Leadership award
The President's Excellence in Education award will be given to those who offer teaching
programming or activities designed to foster or enhance diversity
this nominee's course content focuses on the diversity aspect of language and literature
according to the individual nominating her this individual is a migrant to the U.S.
and she praises her "as one possible embodiment of the other she uses this quality as a pedagogical
tool exposing students of our rural area to the diversity of the world and to the multiculturalism
so necessary in a globalized world one of her primary projects the Empowering Learners of
Spanish Project is published by the Center for Open Educational Resources for Heritage Language
Learning at the University of Texas at Austin and funded by the U.S. Department of Education
using a critical pedagogical approach these activities teach sociolinguistics and critical
inquiry to integrate language ideologies her diversity-related activities promote recruitment
and retention of underrepresented students at Western Illinois University
this individual is part of several inclusion initiatives in the University related to Latinx
students and is a constant presence in the events of the multicultural center by bringing real
life experiences to the classroom and beyond she exposes students to multicultural social
economic gender and racial issues." please join me in congratulating the 2021
President's Excellence in Education award recipient Professor Munia Cabal-Jimenez
The Cathy O'Neill Couza Award for Outstanding Leadership and Diversity is awarded to a Western
Illinois University employee who exemplifies a commitment to promoting equity diversity and
inclusion the award recognizes those persons who have worked throughout the University community
and beyond to broadly support and celebrate persons from various diverse backgrounds
typically the recipient is an individual who is committed to and has a progressive vision for
building positive and collaborative relationships that create educational opportunities for the
growth and development for all members of the University community of learners
this award celebrates those who are effective champions for diversity and inclusion at WIU.
please join me in congratulating Dr. Martin Abraham as the recipient of the 2021
Cathy O'Neill Couza Award for Outstanding Leadership in Diversity
The Service award is given to individuals who have participated in or initiated diversity
related committee work community involvement and or community outreach the group nominated for this
award has been planning outreach activities and exploring ways to educate and support
students regarding issues related to diversity inclusion oppression allyship and systematic
racism they have created safe spaces allyship trainings and support groups to meet this goal
they are committed to making a difference and addressing issues of racial injustice
here at wiu it is with great pleasure that I present the 2021 President's Excellence in
Service Award to the Racial Justice Initiatives Committee in the University Counseling Center.
in closing d'd like to thank our presenters and all of our honored recipients for joining us today
thank you for continuing to do the hard work for doing the heavy lifting and for supporting
our collective endeavors towards a more equitable inclusive and diverse Western Illinois University.