Faculty Member Linda DeAngelo Receives 2023 Provost’s Award for Diversity in the Curriculum

Linda DeAngelo, a faculty member in higher education in the Educational Foundations, Organizations and Policy Department in Pitt Education, was named a recipient of the university’s 2023 Provost’s Award for Diversity in the Curriculum.

The award recognizes DeAngelo’s work in redesigning her EFOP 3014 Higher Education Institutional Strategic Planning course, a cornerstone of the school’s Doctor of Education (EdD) in Higher Education program. The course is for students aspiring to, or currently engaged in, upper administration roles within higher education institutions.

The course, which was originally focused on change management within higher education systems, underwent a significant transformation under DeAngelo’s guidance. According to DeAngelo, the course was traditionally agnostic towards equity, justice, and inclusivity, instead approaching strategic planning from a transactional leadership framework. However, recognizing the urgency and significance of aligning with the School of Education’s mission and vision centered on equity and justice values, DeAngelo spearheaded the course redesign three years ago.

She says her course modifications invite students into a safe space where they can actively participate in creating equitable environments within higher education institutions. DeAngelo says this essential alteration empowers students to take up the responsibility of fostering inclusive spaces, thereby ensuring the flourishing of all members of the university community.

“My research and commitments to equity and justice as a scholarly leader informed my approach to teaching and learning in this course and its modification,” DeAngelo says.

DeAngelo’s commitment to social justice and equity extends to addressing broader societal challenges. When she assumed the responsibility of teaching the course, she was guided by a question which still drives her today: “If not now, when?”