2019 President's Diversity and Inclusion Award Recipients Announced

SALISBURY, MD---SU honored seven members of the campus community with its 2019 President’s Diversity and Inclusion Awards.

SU President Charles Wight presented the awards at the University’s Center for Equity, Justice and inclusion during SU’s 24th annual Multicultural Festival Week.

Recipients  included undergraduate students Thomas Mannion III, Chantess Robinson and William Fried; graduate student Nyasha Wills; academic advisor Michael Ucci (professional staff award); and Dr. Erin Stutelberg of the Secondary and Physical Education Department, and Angeline Prichard of SU Libraries (faculty awards).

Mannion, a senior interdisciplinary studies and conflict analysis and dispute resolution major from Baltimore, is president and co-founder of the Sexuality and Gender Awareness group (SAGA). He was a resident assistant, and currently serves as a part-time staff member of the Office of Institutional Equity and an active member in numerous clubs and organizations. “Thomas played an instrumental role in launching the Center for Equity, Justice and Inclusion, which currently holds our very first LGBTQ Resource Center, Women's Center, and Disability Community,” said Diana Federici, assistant director of housing who, with Dr. Kara French, assistant professor of history, nominated Mannion.

Robinson, a junior communication arts major from Queens, NY, “encourages students of color and others of campus to actively and efficiently advocate for themselves,” said nominator Richard Potter, multicultural student services program director. She is the current Lambda Pi Eta national communication arts honor society president, incoming SU NAACP president and residence life coordinator for SU’s chapter of the Rho Alpha Sigma national resident assistant honor society.

Fried, a junior conflict analysis and dispute resolution major from Bethesda, MD, is the vice president of the Delta Alpha Pi honor society and a member of the Association Supporting Employment First (APSE), and serves on the Inclusive Education Committee of TASH, an international leader in disability advocacy. “He has worked tirelessly over the last several years to increase disability outreach and awareness not only at SU but on local, state, and national platforms,” said his nominator Candace Henry, disability resource counselor.

Pursuing her M.S.W., Wills, of Baltimore, has collaborated with multiple academic and student affairs departments to bring greater awareness to the usage of preferred names and pronouns in an effort to be more inclusive as a campus community. “The work that Nyasha has done will forever have a lasting impact on fostering an equitable, diverse and inclusive campus community,” said Potter, also her nominator. She serves as the student diversity chair for the School of Social Work and as a graduate assistant for the LGBTQIA+ area of Multicultural Student Services Office.

Ucci has been an advisor in the Academic Advising Center since it opened in the 2016 and has one the most diverse advising rosters in terms of race and ethnicity —approximately 25% of his advises are non-white — according to his nominator, Dr. Melissa Boog, associate vice president of academic affairs. Currently, he is the advisor for competitive programs and works closely with students at risk of not completing through the professional program. “Michael is an asset to the University. His efforts positively impact the University’s retention rates, graduation rates and time to degree,” said Boog.

Stutelberg was nominated due to her deep integration of diversity and equity issues in her teaching and service. She is a co-facilitator of the Social Justice, Equity and Teaching Transformation Faculty Learning Committee and the Diversity Interest Group, and a civic reflection discussion leader. “The impact of Dr. Stutelberg's activities is a reflection of her deep integration of diversity and equity issues in her teaching and service,” said her nominators, Drs. Maida Finch and Judith Franzak of the Literacy Studies Department, and Elsie Walker of the English Department. Students consistently speak to the impact she has had on their teaching and professional practice, as she helped them see hidden racism, homophobia and language biases, they added.

As part of the Social Justice, Equity and Teaching Transformation Faculty Learning Committee, Prichard helped create a new “Diversity and Inclusion Resources for Curricula” guide, according to her nominator, Dr. Beatriz Hardy, dean of libraries and instructional resources. One of her most notable activities was having SU Libraries host the traveling AIDS Memorial Quilt last fall. In conjunction with the display, she organized a reception, movie and panel discussion. She is also a trainer for the Safe Spaces program and a co-founder of the SU Women’s Forum.

Each President’s Diversity and Inclusion Award winner received a plaque and a gift from the Office of Institutional Equity.

At the ceremony, Wight praised the December 2018 opening of the CEJI as an illustration of a promising and meaningful step in the right direction.

“We must continue to foster an environment of respect, connection and involvement on our campus,” he said.

In the past decade, SU has seen a 55 percent growth in undergraduate minority students and a 139 percent growth in graduate minority students. Minority and non-resident students currently make up nearly 27 percent of SU’s student population.

During that time, the University also has seen a 57 percent growth in minority tenured or tenure-track faculty and a 5 percent increase in minority staff.

Priorities for the upcoming year include a commitment to foster a welcoming campus by helping nurture a robust sense of identity and community, and the continued development of SU’s first comprehensive Campus Climate Study, Wight said.

The ceremony marked the 12th year the awards have been bestowed.

For more information call 410-543-6030 or visit the SU website.