As part of a new tradition begun in 2017, the conference also includes a presentation of the Inclusive Excellence Award, presented to a UNT department or unit that demonstrates a commitment to excellence in learning, teaching, student development, institutional functioning, and/or engagement in local and global communities. Their efforts should exemplify the institutionalization of diversity, equity, and/or inclusion efforts through its policies, programs, practices, and people. In partnership with the Inclusive Excellence Sponsor, the Division awards a monetary gift to the unit to help continue their work.

Winner: G. Brint Ryan College of Business

2020 Inclusive Excellence Sponsor

The recipient of the 2020 Inclusive Excellence Award is the G. Brint Ryan College of Business.

The G. Brint Ryan College of Business is one of the largest business schools in the nation. Recognized by Diverse Issues in Higher Education for the number of degrees awarded to people of color, student clubs housed by the G. Brint Ryan College of Business include chapters of Women in Business, the National Association of Black Accountants, and Association of Latino Professionals in Finance and Accounting.

During the 2018-19 academic year, G. Brint Ryan College of Business Dean Dr. Marilyn Wiley partnered with Diversity & Inclusion to deliver learning and development sessions on bias awareness and identity authoring for its entire leadership team, faculty and staff. The College enhanced their training program by offering a session to their leadership team of department chairs a unit on inclusive excellence and equity-mindedness. The training led to a partnership between the G. Brint Ryan College of Business and Division of Institutional Equity & Diversity to include UNT’s first-ever Corporate-Collegiate Partnership as part of the 2019 Equity & Diversity Conference where the Colleges of Business and Engineering, Peterbilt employee resource groups (ERGs), and diversity and inclusion council representatives shared their identity-based engagement strategies for talent management, acquisition, and creating career pipelines for students. This year, the College increased its conference involvement as the first-ever internal Eagle Sponsor Partner.

The College’s diversity, inclusion, and identity-based programming includes their Professional Leadership Program, a cooperative effort between the G. Brint Ryan College of Business and corporate partners that includes regular activities related to diversity and inclusion. This year, their UNT Human Resources Collaborative featured programming titled “What Does Diversity Mean to You” and included chief diversity and inclusion officers from various companies. The Tiered Progression Program, which offers progress checks and enrichment activities, helps students successfully graduate. The College prepares students for internships with a pre-internship course that is helping its current students secure internships that lead to employment upon graduation – the only of its kind at the University.

This year, the G. Brint Ryan College of Business was recognized among five top-tier business schools for its logistics student onboarding and workforce preparation program program by Global Trade Magazine, including dressing for success, communication skills, generation gaps and analyses presentations. These efforts have helped to position the G. Brint Ryan College of Business as an existing and emerging university of choice for employers seeking high-quality, diverse candidates. The Division of Institutional Equity & Diversity is proud to present the 2020 Inclusive Excellence Award to the G. Brint Ryan College of Business with a $5000 gift from Hilti to continue their efforts to practice intentional inclusion. Accepting the award is Dr. Marilyn Wiley, Dean of the G. Brint Ryan College of Business.

Learn more about past Inclusive Excellence Award recipients:

• Inaugural Award Recipient: Department of Teacher Education and Administration
  
• 2018 Award Recipient: Housing and Residence Life
• 2019 Award Recipient: UNT Office of Outreach