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Presidential Diversity Award recipients recognized

The recipients of the 2016 Presidential Diversity Award were recently honored at a reception at the Witmer House. This yearÌÇÐÄ´«Ã½™s recipients, pictured with Vivian Lewis (left), vice provost for faculty development and diversity, and President and CEO Joel Seligman (right) are: Janice Holland (back, left), senior HR representative and diversity specialist/facilitator and community liaison; the One Community program, including Seqouoia Kemp ÌÇÐÄ´«Ã½™16 (back, middle), Jessica Guzman-Rea (back, right), director of the Paul J. Burgett Intercultural Center, Nicholas Kasper ÌÇÐÄ´«Ã½™17 (front, left), and Shahyan Rehman ÌÇÐÄ´«Ã½™16 (front, center); and Kathy Rideout (second from right), dean of the School of Nursing. (Photo by J. Adam Fenster)

The recipients of the 2016 Presidential Diversity Award are Janice Holland, senior HR representative, diversity specialist/facilitator, and community liaison; the One Community program; and Kathy Rideout, dean of the School of Nursing.

The awards were created in 2009 by President and CEO Joel Seligman to recognize faculty, staff, students, units, departments or teams that ÌÇÐÄ´«Ã½œdemonstrate a commitment to diversity and inclusion through recruitment and retention efforts, teaching, research, multicultural programming, cultural competency, community outreach activities, or other initiatives.ÌÇÐÄ´«Ã½�

This yearÌÇÐÄ´«Ã½™s winners were chosen from among seven nominees who were recommended by their colleagues. Each award includes a $2,500 prize. Individual award winners receive half and designate half to support the budget of a program or department of the winnerÌÇÐÄ´«Ã½™s choice; team award winners designate the entire $2,500 prize to the program or department of the teamÌÇÐÄ´«Ã½™s choice.

More information about the award is available at .

Janice Holland

Holland has led several initiatives to bridge the gap between the University and the City of Rochester, along with a variety of community-based organizations, by addressing issues of disparity.

The value she places on diversity, inclusion, and multiculturalism led Holland to provide job coaching to staff and students struggling to find their connection to the University. She has initiated numerous initiatives to serve the Greater Rochester community, such as an ÌÇÐÄ´«Ã½œinterview bootcampÌÇÐÄ´«Ã½� that teaches todayÌÇÐÄ´«Ã½™s interview styles and trends to underrepresented and seasoned displaced workers.

One Community

The Paul J. Burgett Intercultural Center coordinates the One Community program, which is held during orientation. The purpose of the program is to provide first-year students with the chance to spend time thinking carefully about their own identities; hear narratives of the experiences of others; and provide tools to address situations that arise from difficult topics such as race, class, ability, gender, sexual orientation, religion, and other identity markers. Learn more at .

Kathy Rideout

Under RideoutÌÇÐÄ´«Ã½™s leadership, the School of Nursing received New Careers in Nursing Scholars awards from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation for all seven rounds of funding. The school has provided more than $900,000 in scholarships to 91 students from diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds.

Rideout has contributed significantly to recruiting racial and ethnic minority faculty, with the number of underrepresented minority faculty doubling in the past few years. By approving a budget for the School of NursingÌÇÐÄ´«Ã½™s Council for Diversity and Inclusion to organize school-wide activitiesÌÇÐÄ´«Ã½”the only diversity committee that has its own budget within the UniversityÌÇÐÄ´«Ã½”she has strengthened collaboration University-wide.