The University of Georgia held its Embracing Diversity virtual event Wednesday afternoon. The occasion celebrates the advancements made toward inclusion at UGA. President Jere Morehead announced the creation of an award supporting those efforts made by faculty.
“The Dawn D. Bennett Alexander Inclusive Community Award will recognize another outstanding faculty member who has made considerable and lasting contributions to promoting diversity, equity and inclusion within and beyond the classrooms at the University of Georgia,” according to Morehead.
Dr. Paige Carmichael, a professor of Veterinary Pathology at UGA’s College of Veterinary Medicine was the inaugural recipient of the honor.
That award was named in honor of Dawn D. Bennett Alexander, Associate Professor Emeritus at the Terry College of Business, who was the keynote speaker. She devoted her achievements to her daughters.
“That is part of why I dedicate everything I do to them, every time I look at them it makes me tear up,” an emotional Bennett Alexander said. “Because they are so awesome, and the idea that the world could see them any other way just is not okay with me as their mother. So I had to try to change the world.”
In addition, faculty and staff graduates of the Certificate in Diversity & Inclusion, along with student recipients of the Diversity and Black Alumni Scholarships were also recognized.