Skip to Main Content

SVSU History: Roosevelt Ruffin Diversity Award

About the Award

Purpose

The Roosevelt Ruffin Award Program was created to promote and encourage support of diversity by recognizing individuals and/or groups of individuals at SVSU who have demonstrated outstanding leadership and creativity in the area of diversity. SVSU alumni, students, faculty and staff may nominate candidates. The recipient of this award will receive a monetary award presented at the annual All-University Awards Banquet.

Diversity is represented by a variety of different characteristics and activities that promote, and enhance an environment that fosters and supports the personal and intellectual growth of students, faculty, and staff at SVSU.

Criteria

Submit a letter of nomination that addresses how the nominee or team/group has demonstrated a significant commitment to enhance diversity at SVSU including at least three of the following:

  • Description of accomplishments, leadership and service in support of diversity enhancement
  • Description of achievement in creating a supportive environment
  • Description of success in recruiting and retaining individuals who represent diverse groups among faculty, staff and administrative positions
  • Description of success in recruiting, retaining, and graduating individuals who represent diverse groups among students
  • Description of efforts to change the University’s culture to be more accepting and understanding of diverse cultures
  • Description of methods used to educate University leadership in areas of diversity
  • Description of the development and implementation of community outreach projects related to diversity

Eligibility

Award nominees can be SVSU academic or academic support units (or teams within a unit), campus organizations, students, alumni, faculty or staff who have implemented policies, procedures, and/or programs at SVSU to enhance diversity on the basis of color, race, religion, sexual orientation, national origin, sex, age, disability, veteran or military service status, gender identity, economic status, political belief and marital status.

SVSU site for the Roosevelt Ruffin Diversity Award

Award Recipients

Roosevelt Ruffin Diversity Award

  • 2005 - SVSU Student Association
  • 2006 - Robert S. P. & Amy Yien
  • 2007 - Kenneth S. Jolly (History)
  • 2008 - Drew Hinderer (Philosophy)
  • 2009 - Sharon Robinson (Mathematics)
  • 2009 - Marwan Wafa (Business and Management)
  • 2009 - Sahar Al-Masri (International Student Advisor)
  • 2010 - Averetta Lewis (Nursing)
  • 2011 - Joseph Ofori-Dankwa (Management)
  • 2012 - Donald Bachand (Academic Affairs)
  • 2013 - Joseph Madison (Community Volunteer)
  • 2014 - Dawn Hinton (Sociology)
  • 2015 - David M. Hall (Executive in Residence, College of Business & Management)
  • 2016 - Vanessa Brooks Herd (Social Work)
  • 2017 - Theatre Department
  • 2018 - Monica Reyes (Disability Services)
  • 2019 - Barbara Jean Jones
  • 2020 - Eric Gardner (English)
  • 2021 - Kim Lacey (English)
  • 2022 - Rajani Muraleedharan Sreekumarid (Engineering)