KU Alumni Association receives Inclusive Excellence Award

The Alumni Association received the 2024 Alumni Association Inclusive Excellence Award from Insight Into Diversity magazine, the largest and oldest diversity and inclusion publication in higher education. The award honors alumni association programs, culture and initiatives that encourage and support diversity, inclusion and a sense of belonging for all alumni, regardless of racial or ethnic background, sexual or gender identity, religion, socioeconomic status, and worldview.

The Association is featured, along with 31 other recipients, in the June 2024 issue of Insight Into Diversity magazine.

“The KU Alumni Association team takes great pride in being acknowledged for our efforts in nurturing inclusivity, connectivity, and a sense of community among all alumni and friends, irrespective of their backgrounds,” says Heath Peterson, d’04, g’09, president. “We work both intentionally and consistently to build an alumni association where all Jayhawks feel they belong.”

Insight Into Diversity took note of the KU Alumni Association’s efforts in recent years to promote inclusive excellence through the work of staff members, the national Board of Directors and other stakeholders. These include:

• Providing free, four-year memberships in the Student Alumni Network to all KU undergraduate students. (Free memberships removed the previous barrier of membership dues to provide access and connections for all.)
• Creating and continuing to expand the Jayhawk Career Network and its KU Mentoring+ program, which now connect more than 13,000 alumni and current students.
• Opening the Jayhawk Welcome Center and renovated Adams Alumni Center as a new home for Jayhawks past, present and future.
• Highlighting the stories of alumni who represent the broad spectrum of diversity throughout the worldwide Jayhawk network.
• Expanding affinity networks to cultivate alumni communities around shared interests, experiences and backgrounds and strengthen connections to the Association and KU.
• Refreshing the organization’s shared culture and values as a Catalyst for Connection for KU, guided by three core values: Appreciate the Unique, Cultivate the Core and Fuel the Future.

Mykala Sandifer, c’15, the Association’s assistant vice president of University relations, talent and inclusion, notes that the national honor affirms the Association’s progress. “We will continue working to improve the sense of community and connection among all Jayhawks,” she says, “as we affirm our values, remove barriers to access and participation, create more inclusive opportunities, and tell more stories that highlight the vast diversity of our alumni and students.”

For more information about the Association’s affinity networks, culture and values, and other programs, visit the Association’s Jayhawks Belong page.