Department of Educational Leadership Receives Excellence in Equity Innovation Award
Award was presented at Minnesota State Academic and Student Affairs Conference.
Mankato, Minn. – Minnesota State University, Mankato’s Department of Educational Leadership was awarded an Excellence in Equity Innovation Award on Wednesday at the Minnesota State Academic and Student Affairs Conference in St. Paul.
Minnesota State Mankato’s Department of Educational Leadership received the award for purposefully including racial equity in all aspects of its programming and existing practices, and offering alternatives to disrupt any practice that fails to yield more racially conscious educational leaders.
The department did so by changing its mission statement and also by increasing efforts to recruit and support faculty of color by providing scholarships for leaders of color as well as providing customized training opportunities.
The revised mission statement led to increases in program enrollment, program diversity, students of color degree awards and administrative licenses awarded and an increase in number of faculty of color teaching in the program.
There are now five annual $1,000 scholarships provided to students of color enrolled in a master’s, specialist or doctoral degree program, and the department has held the “Leading Courageously for Racial Equity Conference” for the past six years.
The Excellence in Equity Innovation Award is one of seven awards presented each year at Minnesota State’s Academic and Student Affairs Conference.
Minnesota State Mankato’s Department of Educational Leadership is located at the University’s offices in Edina (7700 France Ave. S.).
For more information, contact Jinger Gustafson, chair of the Department of Educational Leadership, by phone at 952-818-8891 or by email at jinger.gustafson@mnsu.edu.
Minnesota State Mankato’s Department of Educational Leadership is part of the University’s College of Education.
Minnesota State Mankato, a comprehensive university with 14,297 students, is part of the Minnesota State system, which includes 30 colleges and seven universities.
