UC Merced Receives 2025 Higher Education Excellence and Distinction Award

The University of California, Merced, has received the 2025 Higher Education Excellence and Distinction Award from Insight Into Academia magazine, the oldest and largest diversity-focused publication in higher education. The annual HEED Award is a national honor recognizing U.S. colleges and universities that demonstrate an outstanding commitment to academic excellence, belonging and community building across all levels of campus life.

UC Merced will be featured, along with 60 other recipients, in the October 2025 issue of Insight Into Academia magazine.

"The Division of Equity, Justice and Inclusive Excellence deeply appreciates this recognition, which celebrates our ongoing efforts to promote academic excellence and foster a campus community where everyone feels a true sense of belonging," said Christine Tumonong, director of administration and budget for UC Merced's Division of Equity, Justice and Inclusive Excellence.

Recipients are chosen through an extensive, months-long evaluation in which a review committee examines multiple facets of each institution's diversity, equity and inclusion efforts.

"We take a detailed and somewhat holistic approach to reviewing each application in determining who will be named a HEED Award recipient. Our standards are high, and we look for institutions where academic excellence and belonging are woven into the work being done every day across their campus," said Lenore Pearlstein, co-publisher of Insight Into Academia magazine.

Tumonong credited Zulema Valdez and Wendy Puquirre for spearheading UC Merced's HEED application efforts, saying, "The time, thoughtfulness and collaboration that went into this application reflect the core values of our university and help elevate UC Merced as a leader in inclusive excellence."

For more information about the 2025 HEED Award, visit insightintoacademia.com.