News
Libraries win award for diversity, equity, inclusion work
University of Dayton Libraries won a national award for commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion from Insight Into Diversity magazine.
The 2024 Library Excellence in Access and Diversity (LEAD) Award honors libraries’ programs and initiatives that encourage and support DEI across campus and in the community. UD was selected for the Libraries’ work to implement its strategic DEI plan, which involves its workforce, collections, programming, exhibits, and physical and virtual spaces.
“Our work to be more diverse, inclusive, equitable and accessible is grounded in the University’s Catholic and Marianist mission,” said Ione T. Damasco, associate dean for inclusive excellence and organizational development. “We know inclusive excellence is not a series of boxes to be checked off; it’s a continuous cycle of working with each other and taking chances to try new things in order to create better outcomes for everyone.”
The Libraries' plan includes initiatives such as expanding collections to include more resources by and about underrepresented communities. University Libraries are also a founding member of the OhioLINK Luminaries program, which offers paid year-long internships for underrepresented students to explore careers in librarianship and information studies. The Libraries’ Diversity & Inclusion Team also offers programming as well as workforce development efforts that are focused on inclusive excellence.
University Libraries will be featured alongside 55 recipients in the March 2024 issue of Insight Into Diversity, the largest and oldest diversity and inclusion publication in higher education.
“We are proud to honor these college and university libraries as role models for other institutions of higher education,” said Lenore Pearstein, the magazine’s owner and publisher.