WMU's Ming Li among national diversity award honorees

Contact: Cheryl Roland
Photo of Dr. Ming Li.

Li

KALAMAZOO, Mich.—Dr. Ming Li, dean of the Western Michigan University College of Education and Human Development, is among 39 national higher education leaders honored this week by INSIGHT Into Diversity magazine, the oldest and largest diversity and inclusion publication in higher education.

Li and his fellow recipients were honored with the magazine's 2017 Giving Back Award. The annual award program honors college and university administrators who go above and beyond their everyday leadership duties and "give back" to their campuses and communities. Li is featured, along with 38 other recipients, in the April 2017 Leadership Support and Giving Back issue of INSIGHT Into Diversity.

According to magazine staff, Giving Back Award recipients were nominated by their colleagues and selected by INSIGHT Into Diversity based on their outstanding demonstration of social responsibility; involvement with students, faculty, staff and the community; and commitment to serving underrepresented populations. Each honoree is recognized for his or her passion, dedication, and support for diversity and inclusion.

Li, who has served as education dean at WMU since 2013, was specifically honored because he has focused his career on diversifying the K-12 teacher workforce by making teacher preparation programs more accessible to underrepresented students.

Li is the only honoree this year from a Michigan public university. The only other Michigan award winner is Linda Logan, vice president and dean of students at Olivet College. Other honorees from around the nation include leaders from the universities of Boston, Cincinnati, Georgia and Louisville as well as Penn State and Southern Illinois universities.

WMU President John M. Dunn was a recipient of the 2016 Giving Back Award and was featured in the April 2016 issue of INSIGHT into Diversity magazine.

For more information about the 2017 Giving Back Award and INSIGHT Into Diversity magazine, visit insightintodiversity.com.

For more WMU news, arts and events, visit wmich.edu/news.