February 17, 2025
SIU System ADEI Lifetime Achievement Award nominations accepted
Nominations are being accepted for the Dr. Wesley G. Robinson-McNeese ADEI Lifetime Achievement Award. The nomination deadline is March 14.
The SIU Board of Trustees in 2024 renamed the system’s ADEI lifetime achievement award to honor the late Robinson-McNeese, the system’s former director of diversity initiatives.
The award recognizes staff and faculty members for their efforts in creating, sustaining and expanding anti-racism, diversity, equity and inclusion efforts. The recognition is for staff and faculty members whose careers include generally 15 years or more of documented service and advocacy in ADEI initiatives that result in greater justice and belonging for all in the SIU community.
McNeese was the founder of the SIU School of Medicine's Office of Diversity, Multicultural and Minority Affairs in 2001 and was named inaugural associate dean of the Office of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion in 2016. As a justice advocate, he went on to lead the entire SIU System as the executive director for diversity initiatives.
Information on award criteria, eligibility, nomination guidelines and selection criteria is available on the SIU System ADEI webpage.
Recipients will receive a plaque and $1,500. The award will be presented at the April 17 SIU Board of Trustees meeting in Carbondale.
For more information, contact Sheila Caldwell, SIU System vice president for anti-racism, diversity, equity and inclusion, at sheila.caldwell@siu.edu or Doris Williams, ADEI project coordinator, at doris.williams@siu.edu.