School Receives Insight Into Diversity 2024 Higher Education Excellence In Diversity (HEED) Award

The Celia Scott Weatherhead School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine at Tulane University has received the 2024 Health Professions 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 Health Professions HEED Award — a national honor recognizing U.S. health colleges and universities that demonstrate an outstanding commitment to diversity and inclusion — Tulane University Celia Scott Weatherhead School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine will be featured, along with 70 other recipients, in the November/ December 2024 issue of Insight Into Diversity magazine. 

This is the second straight year the Celia Scott Weatherhead School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine has been designated a Health Professions HEED Award recipient. Tulane University was recognized with an overall HEED Award, the institution’s third straight year. 

"This award continues to hold major significance for us," said Dr. Eva Silvestre, associate dean for equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) at the school. "Since last year, we’ve only expanded our efforts, and the school also hired a full-time assistant director for EDI, Alisha Williams, She has hit the ground running doing outreach to student organizations and offering a series of trainings for our entire community. We are able to collaborate with other offices and departments to help up embed EDI into everything the school does.”

This is important as our community is diverse and EDI is important in preparing future public health leaders.

Dean Thomas A. LaVeist has prioritized diversity in the student, staff, and faculty bodies since coming to Tulane in 2018. LaVeist, a a renowned expert in the field ofhealth equity, has highlighted the need to ensure that future public health professionals should reflect the communities they work in. 

“The Health Professions 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 Health Professions HEED Award recipient. Our standards are high, and we look for schools where diversity and inclusion are woven into the work being done every day across their campus.”

The complete list of 2024 HEED Award recipients can be accessed and people can learn more about the HEED Award by visiting insightintodiversity.com.