Five University of Arizona community members and groups have been honored with Peter W. Likins Inclusive Excellence Awards in recognition of their commitment to maintaining a diverse and inclusive campus environment.

The winners were announced last month by Juan García, vice president for instruction and dean of University College, and Raji Rhys, director of the Diversity Resource Office, who said the contributions made by the winners have enhanced the University's academic excellence.

This is the fourth year the awards have been presented. The Diversity Resource Office established the program during the 2005-6 academic year in honor of then-President Peter Likins, who demonstrated a strong commitment to promoting and embracing diversity on the UA campus during his tenure.

All of the winners were nominated by members of the campus community. They will receive award plaques from President Robert Shelton at a reception on Oct. 17.

This year's winners are:

David Martinez III

Martinez is a senior majoring in secondary education who seeks out leadership positions in which he can promote inclusion and positively impact students' experiences.

Through his work in the Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action Office, he has been involved in the Transgender Project, an endeavor intended to create a campus environment that is inclusive and values transgender individuals. As a student regent on the Arizona Board of Regents, Martinez has been a tireless advocate for recruiting and retaining a diverse faculty, staff and student body.

Edith Sayre Auslander

Auslander serves as the vice president and senior associate to the president and in this role she has dedicated herself to building a welcoming campus environment. She not only represented Shelton on his Diversity Advisory Councils, but she helped to facilitate their work with the University.During Auslander's tenure as president of the UA Hispanic Alumni club, the group's scholarship endowment grew to $1 million. As president of the Arizona Board of Regents in 1989-90, she initiated the study on the Status of Women, which was influential in creating the Commission on the Status of Women, an organization that develops programs to promote equity in the campus community. Auslander will retire at the end of this month.

The Summer Research Opportunities Program Team

This team works to ensure research opportunities for underrepresented students, and by doing so, helps students to pursue graduate education. The program, known as SROP, hosts over 100 students each summer and 85 percent of its participants go on to pursue graduate education. The SROP team works to recruit students, pair them with faculty mentors, provide research workshops and coordinate the Graduate College Summer Research Conference, during which all SROP participants present their research.

The SROP team includes Donna Treloar, assistant director for diversity and Summer Research Institute coordinator at the Graduate College; Sandi Bartell, senior program coordinator for the Minority Health Disparities Summer Research Opportunity Program; Cindy Neal, senior program coordinator for Minority Access to Health Careers in the department of biochemistry and molecular biophysics; Kimberly Sierra-Cajas, Science and Technology Center coordinator in the College of Optical Sciences; Laura Farrel, administrative associate in the department of chemistry; Nura Dualeh, assistant director of the McNair Achievement Program in the Graduate College; Andrew Huerta, McNair Achievement Program coordinator; Nadia Alvarez, coordinator of Verano de Investigación in the Graduate College; and Cynthia Bjerk-Plocke, administrative associate in the Graduate College.

Toni Griego Jones

Griego Jones, an associate professor for teaching and teacher education in the College of Education, is a tireless mentor and advocate for developing channels through which all University members can be involved. She was a catalyst for the creation of Minority Women Faculty, an organization that helps minority women through the promotion and tenure process by offering workshops and providing mentoring opportunities. She also served as president of the Association of Women Faculty, and has been a key participant in groups such as the President’s Diversity Coalition. Recently, Geiego Jones received a prestigious Fulbright Scholarship for her work in teacher training and bilingual education.

The Department of Language, Reading and Culture in the College of Education

The department, known as LRC, reflects a rich diversity of faculty, staff and students. The department's diversity contributes to the excellence of its educational efforts not only in the classroom, but also to the campus as a whole. The department sponsors the Conference on Literature and Literacy for Children and Adolescents, an annual event that highlights the diversity of people, culture and perspective in literature for children and adolescents. The department also sponsors the American Indian Language Development Institute to help document and revitalize indigenous languages, thereby reinforcing the processes of intergenerational language transfer. The department is headed by Patricia L. Anders.