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Equity, Diversity, & Inclusion

Centers & Offices

cut and arranged paper to resemble a trophy with a kente cloth ribbon

The Black Cultural Center (BCC) is again celebrating the many wonderful and vital contributions made by our faculty, student, alumni, and staff community at the University of Utah with the fourth annual Black Faculty and Staff Awards. In partnership with the Black Faculty & Staff association and the Office of Alumni Relations, the BCC will honor the awardees on Saturday, February 25 from 6-9 p.m. in the University of Utah’s Cleone Peterson Eccles Alumni House. Everyone is welcome and attendees are asked to RSVP for the event.  

This year a dozen university staff, faculty, and students have been chosen to receive honors—but specific awards will only be announced on the evening of the BCC award event, so everyone is encouraged to attend and cheer on their colleagues! Awardees this year are being recognized for their contributions in an impressive number of areas. From community projects to campus leadership, to innovative lab and fieldwork, to scholarship, and student mentoring and support, this year’s recipients are transforming campus and community through their amazing work.  

Awardees this year include:  

  • Sumiko Anderson, Assistant Professor (clinical) and a Faculty Field Liaison in the College of Social Work  
  • Domeda Duncan, Marketing Manager for the Department of Enrollment Management 
  • Keke Fairfax, Co-director, IM-PREP Program; associate professor and director, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, Department of Pathology, School of Medicine 
  • Rachel Alicia Griffin, Associate Professor of Race and Communication and Associate Chair in the Department of Communication 
  • Manny Hendrix, Senior Associate Athletics Director for Alumni Engagement and Strategy
  • Bryan Hubain, Associate Vice President for Student Development and Inclusion in the Division of Student Affairs  
  • Bethany Hardwig, Director of Special Projects at the Office of Alumni Relations 
  • Hilda Echilibe, co-chair, Black Graduate Student Association and fourth year graduate student in the Bettini Lab, Department of Pathology 
  • Tashelle Wright, postdoctoral fellow in Department of Faculty & Preventative Medicine 
  • Nia Brooks, second-year undergraduate pursuing Honors degree in Biology with an emphasis on Anatomy and Physiology and a minor in African American Studies 
  • Jasmin Clardy, Black Student Union Advisor and Black/African American Student Engagement Coordinator in the Center of Equity and Student Belonging (CESB) 
  • Joy Pierce, Associate Professor, Department of Writing & Rhetoric Studies and affiliate in Latin American Studies 

Please make sure to RSVP—then join us for the Black Faculty & Staff Award ceremony on the evening of February 25 to celebrate these wonderful campus and community champions.

The Black Faculty and Staff Awards is part of Black History Month and the IntersectX12 initiative. IntersectX12 (“intersect times twelve”) is a reminder that we must strive to honor individuals’ intersecting identities not only during nationally recognized months, so we encourage you to honor, celebrate, and engage with our communities every day, 12 months a year. As members of underrepresented groups have made and continue to make countless contributions to our campus community, IntersectX12 serves as a year-round acknowledgment of the work being done to create an inclusive space where everyone feels they belong

Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) communicates the strategic vision for equity, diversity, and inclusion (and belonging) at the University of Utah. Sign up for our bimonthly One U Thriving Newsletter or EDI Events mailing list to stay informed on our journey as we achieve the goal of an inclusive campus.

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