Associate dean and diversity office honored with Founder's Award

Anneliese Singh, associate dean for diversity, equity and inclusion in the College of Education, was recently honored with the University of Georgia's Lavender Graduation Founder's Award for her contributions to the LGBTQ community and her leadership of the Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI).

Established in 2005, the Founder's Award honors faculty, staff, community members or groups that have made a significant and lasting contribution to UGA's LGBTQ community. The recipient is recognized each year at the annual Lavender Graduation, which celebrates the achievements and contributions of LGBTQ students on campus.

"The College of Education's Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion is honored and humbled to receive the Founder's Award at this year's Lavender Graduation," said Singh. "The UGA LGBT Resource Center has been an amazing partner since the founding of our office in 2016, and we could not have increased the Safe Space trainings for our faculty, staff and students without their support."

Attending to issues of race, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability and more, the College of Education's Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion was developed to engage students, faculty, staff and community members in collaborative conversations about current multicultural and social justice issues.

Every year, the office hosts the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Conference, which includes a keynote lecture, as well as concurrent sessions that serve as forums for sharing and learning in the areas of diversity and multicultural education.

This past March, the College invited Angie Thomas, the New York Times bestselling author of "The Hate U Give," to deliver the keynote address. During her speech, she discussed the current political climate, as well as the inspiration behind her award-winning novel.

"I am also grateful for the amazing work of Brean'a Parker and Briana Bivens, two graduate assistants who provide strong leadership for LGBTQ initiatives within the DEI Office," said Singh. "We are honored to engage alongside the UGA LGBTQ Resource Center in this critically important work of affirming the intersections of multiple identities, acknowledging our queers and transcestors and reclaiming queer and trans communities, values and love from colonization both on this campus and across our society."

Singh and the Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion received the award during the Lavender Graduation ceremony on April 28 in the Memorial Hall Ballroom.