The University of Wisconsin System Board of Regents will honor the recipients of the 12th annual Regents’ Diversity Awards on February 7 in Madison at the next Regents meeting. These awards recognize individuals and programs that foster access and success for students who are members of historically underrepresented populations. Each recipient is awarded $7,500 to support professional development or continue the program being honored.

“These outstanding people and programs are making a profound impact on their campus communities, increasing opportunity for all student populations,” said Regent Eve Hall, who chaired the special Regents’ committee to determine the recipients. “We are proud to recognize their exceptional dedication to building partnerships that support student success.”

Award recipients were selected using the following criteria:

• Sustainable positive impact on equity and diversity, leading to positive institutional change.
• Accountability demonstrated through routine assessment and feedback to promote forward movement on equity and diversity goals.
• Intersections across multiple dimensions of diversity.
• Collaborations with other units, departments, or communities – within the university and beyond.

The 2020 recipients are:

• Individual: Arijit Sen, Associate Professor of Architecture and Urban Studies, School of Architecture and Urban Planning, UW‑Milwaukee.
  Sen’s approach to teaching is directly aligned with the needs of the community as an anchor partner and collaborator. Well-respected among Milwaukee neighborhood leaders for his multidisciplinary work with students in underserved communities, Sen models strategies to adjust the curriculum and pedagogy in ways that introduce students to diverse racial, ethnic, economic, and cultural experiences. Among Sen’s long-term and successful projects is the Buildings-Landscapes-Cultures Field School that he directs. The Field School is a curricular offering from the collaborative Buildings-Landscapes-Cultures area of research, co-founded by Sen in 2008 and shared by UW-Milwaukee and UW-Madison. The Field School has earned local and national awards for its curriculum and vision for immersing students in communities as they work collaboratively on social justice issues to improve diversity and equity. With the help of his students, community partners, and a multidisciplinary set of colleagues, Sen has found that engaged-research and problems-based learning can promote diversity, inclusion, and positive institutional change.

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Arijit Sen joined SAH in 2016 and has served on the SAH Board and the H. Allen Brooks Travelling Fellowship Committee.