The Detroit URC staff was honored yesterday at the fourth annual Distinguished Diversity Leaders Award ceremony along with four other teams and 10 individuals at the University of Michigan. The event included remarks from Lester Monts, senior vice provost for academic affairs, and Laurita Thomas, associate vice president for human resources. Anthony Walesby, associate vice provost and senior director of the Office of Institutional Equity, served as master of ceremonies.

"Diversity is a thread woven into the tapestry of the university," Walesby said. "The staff members we honor as Distinguished Diversity Leaders strive to make our university community a place of inclusion. Their efforts strengthen the university for all, and for that we are grateful." In describing the work of the Detroit URC staff – all Detroit URC partners were acknowledged for their contributions to diversity and addressing health disparities.

Established in 2008 through the initiative of Thomas and Monts, the DDLA is co-sponsored by the Office of the Provost and University Human Resources, and administered by the Office of Institutional Equity.
The award recognizes individual staff members and teams for their accomplishments, and provides a monetary prize — $1,000 for individuals, $2,500 for teams — to be used toward professional development activities. Staff members on all campuses and in the U-M Health System are eligible.

An online nomination form for the fifth annual Distinguished Diversity Leaders Award is available at www.ddla.umich.edu. A call for nominations will be made later in the year.

The five team awardees are: Harmony Diversity Committee, UMHS Transplant Center; Resource Center for Minority Data, Inter-University Consortium for Political and Social Research; Program on Intergroup Relations; Multicultural Affairs Committee, School of Dentistry; and the Detroit Community Academic Urban Research Center.

The 10 individual awardees are: Charmica Abinojar, Diversity and Career Development Office, Medical School; Trey Boynton, University Housing; Christine Gregory, Law School; Jeffery Harrold, Student Academic Affairs, LSA; Mike Nazareth, Office of Graduate Education, College of Engineering; Joshua Peipock, University Housing; Gloria Thomas, Center for the Education of Women; Marie Ting, Center for Educational Outreach; Zachary Tomlinson, Student Development Center, UM-Flint; Trey Williams, Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy.

Photographs: Detroit URC staff and leadership at the Distinguished Diversity Leaders Award ceremony (top) and all team recipients (bottom) were honored on Tuesday. Photos by Terri Mellow, UM-School of Public Health (top) and Scott Soderberg, Michigan Photography (bottom).