Dec. 8, 2015

NCAA Release
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A Collection of Quotes on NIU's 2016 Diversity and Inclusion Award

DeKALB, Ill. -- The Northern Illinois University Department of Intercollegiate Athletics has been named the recipient of the 2016 NCAA and Minority Opportunities Athletic Association (MOAA) Award for Diversity and Inclusion, the NCAA announced Tuesday.

NIU President Doug Baker and Associate Vice-President and Director of Athletics Sean T. Frazier will receive the honor on behalf of the university and athletic department at the NCAA Convention in San Antonio, Texas in January. See the release on NCAA.org here.

"Congratulations to Sean and his team in intercollegiate athletics on this outstanding honor," Baker said. "Diversity and inclusion are core values of NIU. They are among the university's greatest strengths, and Sean and NIU Athletics are leaders on our campus and in our community in the area of diversity and inclusion. I am happy to say that they are now recognized as national leaders in this important effort as well."

"We are absolutely humbled by this NCAA/MOAA recognition and firmly believe that diversity and inclusion is not a `sometime thing,' but rather an `all-the-time thing,' " Frazier said. "Diversity requires a top-down leadership approach rooted in bringing campus and community constituents together to promote civility, accountability and the creation of a shared agenda."

The award, a partnership between the NCAA and MOAA, recognizes and celebrate the initiatives, policies and practices of colleges, universities and/or athletic conference offices that embrace diversity and inclusion. A group consisting of individuals from the MOAA membership, the NCAA Committee on Women's Athletics and the NCAA Minority Opportunities and Interests Committee selected the overall winner, as well as honorable mention recipients the University of Kansas and University of California, San Diego.

NIU Athletics earned the award for its campus programs and partnerships in the DeKalb community following direct steps to keep diversity and inclusion as a priority. Athletics recently revised its departmental vision statement and strategic plan to specifically reflect a commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion and for its efforts to work more cohesively with diverse constituents. The department also dedicated one of its core values purposely to inclusion.

Frazier, who is in his third year at NIU, has been a visible leader in making key decisions to enhance inclusion and diversity. He co-chaired NIU's inaugural diversity and inclusion task force which recommended hiring the university's first chief diversity officer; co-presented an inaugural campus workshop called The NIU Experience: A Journey of Discovery into Affirmative Action, Diversity & Equal Opportunity; and appointed staff within athletics to specifically monitor diversity, inclusion and equity. Athletics also served as a co-sponsor in collaboration with other campus offices to host a conference called Diversity: Strengthening the Pillars of Community, and formed a task force to work on projects that include a diversity/inclusion action plan and a work/life climate survey.

Jerome Rodgers, NIU Senior Associate Athletics Director for Compliance and Administration, who chairs the Diversity and Integration Group (DIG), which manages and promotes the department's efforts in this area, coordinated NIU's application for the award.

"It's gratifying when you are able to use the platform that we have as an athletics department to promote and support change," Rodgers said. "At NIU, athletics is a vehicle for recruitment and retention, for national exposure, for promoting the brand of NIU and in this instance, for pushing forward an agenda of diversity and inclusion. Diversity and inclusion is the right thing to do. We are all about doing things the right way, and affecting change is not easy, it's hard. I'm proud of our staff and especially our Diversity and Integration Group for taking this leadership role, and grateful to the NCAA and MOAA for this award."

To enhance and deepen the awareness of equality and diversity issues, NIU Athletics provides its staff and campus administrators with professional development opportunities to include training seminars on Title IX and diversity/inclusion topics which are facilitated by external constituents and NIU's affirmative action staff. The group has also hosted webinars that cover gender and sexuality topics; programming to increase graduation rates; violence prevention seminars; and programs that bring university, athletics and community cultures together for dialogue. Additionally, the NIU vice provost office funds some programming for athletics staff who work with student-athletes on a daily basis.

"I congratulate Sean Frazier and Northern Illinois University's athletics department on being selected to receive the NCAA and MOAA diversity and inclusion award," said Bernard Franklin, NCAA executive vice president of education and community engagement and chief inclusion officer. "NIU is a role model for other institutions as it has created programs and initiatives that have helped bridge gaps at the university and in the community. NIU Athletics has placed more awareness on the importance of inclusion within its own department too, and those efforts will enable their student-athletes and administrators to maneuver more effectively and strategically on campus and in our diverse society."

Frazier's track record of supporting and promoting diversity dates back to the beginning of his career in intercollegiate athletics. As an assistant football coach at the University of Maine in 1995, he was tabbed as the athletic department's multicultural affairs liaison, where he created programs aimed at fostering diversity. He served as president of MOAA during his time at the University of Wisconsin and in 2014, he was honored with the organization's Distinguished Service Award.

Northern Illinois University operates a 17-sport NCAA Division I (Football Bowl Subdivision) program supporting more than 400 student-athletes who compete in the Mid-American Conference in all sports.

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