University’s Executive Dean Receives Diversity and Inclusion Leader Award

University of Phoenix today announced that it has received the Colleges and Universities Committed to Diversity Award from Minority Access, Inc. This is the second year University of Phoenix has received this award which recognizes the institution’s commitment to diversity and its efforts to increase higher education opportunities for minority scholars, promote diversity and diminish disparities.

Additionally, Constance St. Germain, Ed.D., J.D., executive dean of the Colleges of Humanities and Sciences, Social Sciences, and Security and Criminal Justice, was honored by the Diversity Leadership Alliance and the Arizona Society for Human Resource Management for serving as a diversity and inclusion role model within the Arizona community and University of Phoenix. The Arizona-based diversity education organization recognized Dr. St. Germain with the 2016 Diversity & Inclusion Leader Award. Dr. St. Germain leads the Office of Multicultural Affairs & Diversity at University of Phoenix, which she helped establish.

University of Phoenix has a long tradition of serving the educational needs of underserved and minority populations – exceeding both national averages and institutional averages for minority access.1 Additionally, roughly 46 percent of the institution’s students are ethnic minorities as are 32 percent of its instructors,2 which is reflective of the multicultural fabric of American society. The majority of the University’s students are working adults over 30 years old; first-generation college students comprised more than half of the student body in 2014. Additionally, 72 percent of the institution’s student body have jobs, 66 percent are women and 67 percent have dependents. These statistics further emphasize the demand by working students to enhance their career opportunities through flexible academic programs.3

“Our students and faculty are diverse, and we believe our efforts should contribute to building a community where each person is valued and respected,” Dr. St. Germain said. “It’s essential to further the conversation on how to cultivate an environment of inclusion and diversity that not only makes us stronger as individuals, but also strengthens the institution and our community as a whole.”

As part of ongoing diversity efforts, University of Phoenix recently released results from a survey conducted on their behalf by Morning Consult. The results shed light on Americans’ lack of awareness of transgender issues in the workplace and beyond.

Highlights include:

  • Sixty-seven percent of respondents say they do not personally know a transgender person.
  • Only one in 10 respondents indicated that their company has a leave policy for transitioning employees.
  • When asked to consider whether their employers might support adopting such a policy, half of respondents indicated they did not know how their company’s leadership would feel.
  • Just 19 percent of those polled would support paid leave for transitioning coworkers.
  • An additional 24 percent would support unpaid leave, with no extra benefits, while 32 percent do not believe transgender employees should get any time off at all when transitioning.

“There is a large gap in awareness regarding transgender issues,” said Dr. St. Germain. “As the survey results show, many are still unaware of even the basic issues facing this community. It is important that organizations understand these issues to become truly diverse and inclusive and to adopt policies that address the needs of those who are transgender.”

For more information about University of Phoenix diversity initiatives, visit http://www.phoenix.edu/about_us/corporate-social-responsibility/diversity.html.

Survey Methodology

This poll was conducted by Morning Consult from Aug. 23 – Sept. 3, 2016, among a national sample of 10,113 registered voters. E-interviews were conducted online and the data were weighted to approximate a target sample of registered voters based on age, race/ethnicity, gender, educational attainment, region, annual household income, home ownership status and marital status. Results from the full survey have a margin of error of plus or minus 1 percentage points. To learn more about the survey results, please contact Angela Heisel at angela.heisel@apollo.edu.

1 U.S. Department of Education Institute of Education Sciences National Center for Education Statistics (2015). Characteristics of Postsecondary Faculty: https://nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/indicator_cuf.asp.

2, 3 University of Phoenix Academic Annual Report: http://www.phoenix.edu/content/dam/altcloud/doc/about_uopx/academic-annual-report-2015.pdf

About University of Phoenix

University of Phoenix is constantly innovating to help working adults move efficiently from education to careers in a rapidly changing world. Flexible schedules, relevant and engaging courses, and interactive learning can help students more effectively pursue career and personal aspirations while balancing their busy lives. As a subsidiary of Apollo Education Group, Inc. (Nasdaq: APOL), University of Phoenix serves a diverse student population, offering associate, bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degree programs from campuses and learning centers across the U.S. as well as online throughout the world. For more information, visit www.phoenix.edu.

University of PhoenixAngela Heisel, 602-557-8650Angela.Heisel@apollo.edu

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