Louis Castenell, dean of UGA’s College of Education, was selected to receive the Pedro Zamora Horizon Award from a student committee representing residents of university housing for his efforts toward increasing diversity awareness in the university and Athens community.

The annual award was created in 1995 to acknowledge a public figure or figures who exemplify a strong commitment to the spirit of diversity through their work in his or her community. The award was named in honor of the late cast member of MTV’s Real World series who died of AIDS who promoted being advocates for reason, understanding and change. Past winners include Vanessa Williams-Smith, Vernon Wall, William A. Kretzschmar and the African-Amereican Chorale Ensemble.

The award was presented to Castenell on Thursday, April 10 at 5:15 p.m. in Brumby Rotunda during UGA’s 11th annual Diversity Awareness Week at Georgia (D.A.W.G. Days).

Castenell was appointed UGA’s interim Associate Provost for Diversity in July 2001 and served in that position in addition to his duties as dean. During the 14 months of his appointment, Castenell worked with a large and diverse advisory group to design a consensus report that now serves as the long-range strategic plan for diversity efforts at UGA.

In the College, Castenell created the Office of Educator Partnerships and spearheaded a partnership with the Clarke County School District that established Community Learning Centers in two elementary schools with high Latino and African-American populations. The two schools have an extended, year-round calendar and faculties from across the UGA campus are working with these two schools to reform the educational opportunities for both teachers and students.

Castenell was also instrumental in obtaining a $3.5 million grant from The Goizueta Foundation to support and further issues related to Hispanic education. As part of the grant, a Chair in Hispanic Education will be established in Teacher Education, a Center for the Educational Advancement of Hispanic Education has been created, and a scholarship fund is available to support both undergraduate and graduate students fluent in Spanish. 

Castenell has also worked to establish a contractual agreement with the Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) in Georgia to learn how to create a welcoming climate on the UGA campus in order to recruit the very best and brightest African-American students. As a result of his work UGA departments in Adult Education and Higher Education have been working with three HBCUs to create a collaborative doctoral program for current and future faculty and administrators in the HBCUs. Faculty at UGA and Fort Valley State University are currently seeking funds to support this program.

Castenell has worked to open more administrative opportunities for women and minorities. One of three associate deans he selected was a woman. Three of four school directors he chose were women.

Castenell’s long-term commitment to diversity is also reflected in his active encouragement in the recruitment of faculty of color. Since he became dean in 1999, the College has hired nine new faculty of color (5 African-American, 2 Asian, 1 Indian, and 1 Hawaiian) of whom seven are women.

Wednesday, April 2, 2003
WRITER: Michael Childs, 706/542-5889, mchilds@coe.uga.edu
CONTACT: Leslie Hogan, 706/542-5575, hogan176@arches.uga.edu