Dear DDCE Community,

It’s with great excitement that I share news of two major accolades The University of Texas at Austin has received because of our division’s work during 2015-16.

As many of you know, in 2014 UT Austin was placed on the President’s Higher Education Honor Roll for the General Community Service and Education categories. Never being one to settle for good when great is achievable, I urged our team to raise the bar. Today I write to report that the bar was raised and then some. The Corporation for National & Community Service just announced that the university earned President’s Honor Roll status for all four available categories in 2015: General Community Service, Economic Opportunity, Education, and Interfaith Community Service. And as if that weren’t enough, we were placed on the Honor Roll with Distinction for our Education and Interfaith Community Service work.

The Honor Roll is the highest federal recognition an institution can receive for its commitment to community, service-learning, and civic engagement. We are beyond honored to carry this distinction.

Furthermore, we recently received news that for the fifth consecutive year, the university received the 2016 Higher Education Excellence in Diversity Award from INSIGHT into Diversity magazine. Additionally, this year we received a new designation as a Diversity Champion.

These awards, in addition to our five-year Carnegie Foundation Community Engagement Classification, demonstrate once again that The University of Texas at Austin is a national leader in diversity and community engagement. So thank you all for your support and for all that you do in helping us achieve these honors as we bring national recognition to our division and the university.

 
Dr. Gregory J. Vincent
Vice President for Diversity and Community Engagement
W.K. Kellogg Professor in Community College Leadership
Professor of Law