Michelle Arnold, PhD, AuD, CCC-A was awarded the 2022 Inclusive Excellence Faculty Award from the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion for her outstanding contributions in the areas of diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging. Arnold was honored at the Inclusive Excellence Awards ceremony, which was held Tuesday, April 12 in the Marshall Student Center Ballroom.
Arnold received the award after being nominated by students she mentors who are from under-represented backgrounds, as well as faculty colleagues. Students noted that they valued her mentorship and were proud to be part of the studies they conduct in the lab under her instruction.
Arnold works with students on studies that seek to understand the attitudes and behaviors of Hispanic/Latino and Black adults regarding hearing loss and hearing health care, and the efforts to create culturally and linguistically appropriate and accessible hearing services to better serve the Hispanic community.
"The award is extremely meaningful to me as it highlights the importance of working towards inclusivity in academia – not only in incorporating and valuing diverse representation and leadership on our study team, but also within our participant population," said Arnold. "I am humbled by this recognition, and I share it with my wonderful students (truly colleagues in every sense of the word) who make this work possible: Cruz Reyes, Jennifer Lopez, Charity Lewis, and Diane Martinez."