Students, Faculty, Staff Honored with Helping Hand Awards

Students, faculty and staff who exercised cultural sensitivity, helped promote diversity and inclusion, and improved the campus climate were recognized at the annual Edgar Beckham Helping Hand Awards ceremony held April 27. The event brought together generations of alumni, students, faculty and staff to celebrate the tenets that make Wesleyan “Diversity University.” The keynote speaker this year was Daphne Kwok ’84.

The awards are sponsored by the Administrators and Faculty of Color Alliance, African American Studies Program,  Alumni of Color Council,  Edgar Beckham Fund, Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellowship, and Office of Equity and Inclusion.

Honored at the ceremony were:

Students

Foot in the Door Award (Freshman Award)- Sadasia McCutchen ’17

Excellence in Athletics Award- Angela Slevin ’15

Excellence in the Arts Award- Yiyang Wang ’15

Excellence in Science Award- LaNell Williams ’15

Academic Excellence Award- Elsa Hardy ’14

Senior Legacy Award- Oladoyin Oladapo ’14

Campus Inspiration Award- Ari Ebstein ’16

Faculty/Staff

Lois Brown, Class of 1958 Distinguished Professor, professor of African American studies, professor of English

Suzanne O’Connell, professor of earth and environmental sciences, faculty director of the McNair Program

Gina Ulysse, associate professor of anthropology

Renee Johnson-Thornton, dean for diversity and student engagement, coordinator of the Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellowship

Sarah Mahurin, visiting assistant professor of English, visiting assistant professor of African American studies
Photos of the event are below: (Photos by Diego Song ’15)