Rutgers University School of Nursing received the 2022 Health Professions Higher Education Excellence in Diversity (HEED) Award from INSIGHT Into Diversity magazine, the oldest and largest diversity-focused publication in higher education.

As a recipient of the annual Health Professions HEED Award — a national honor recognizing U.S. health colleges and universities that demonstrate an outstanding commitment to diversity and inclusion — Rutgers School of Nursing was featured, along with 64 other recipients, in the December 2022 issue of INSIGHT Into Diversity magazine. More than 1,200 institutions applied for the award.

The School of Nursing, with campus locations in Newark, New Brunswick, and Blackwood, New Jersey, has a student body that significantly exceeds the racial and gender diversity currently found in the national nursing workforce. In addition to this year’s HEED Award, the school has received the Best Nursing Schools for Men in Nursing Award from the American Association of Men in Nursing for the past five years (2018-2022).

Linda Flynn (PhD, RN, FAAN), professor and dean of the School of Nursing, said “We’re honored to receive the HEED Award as another recognition of our school’s commitment to erasing racism and bias in nursing education and practice as we take measurable steps to increase diversity, representation, inclusion, and belongingness at Rutgers and beyond.”  

The school recently launched a five-year DEI action plan, the dean explained. “Our school has made exciting progress; yet, much more must be done. This is an ongoing journey. We will always strive to be better.”

To apply for the Health Professions HEED Award, institutions must complete a comprehensive application that covers topics such as recruitment and retention of students and employees, continued leadership support for diversity, and other aspects of campus diversity and inclusion, said Lenore Pearlstein, publisher of INSIGHT Into Diversity magazine.

“We take a detailed approach to reviewing each application in deciding who will receive the award,” Pearlstein said. “Our standards are high, and we look for schools where diversity and inclusion are woven into the work being done every day across their campus.”

Learn more about the HEED Award and see the full list of recipients.