Belle Rose Ragins, Sheldon B. Lubar Professor of Management, has received the 2022 Lifetime of Service Award from Wisconsin’s State Council on Affirmative Action Diversity Awards Program.
The Council recognized her “for dedicating her 24+ year career at UW-Milwaukee to championing DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) initiatives in her research, publications, and as a leading contributor in the development of several campus, academic and community efforts to advance the field of DEI.”
Ragins is an internationally-recognized expert in the fields of mentoring, diversity, and positive relationships at work, with an extensive record of contributions and service. She is an elected fellow of five scholarly organizations, and has received numerous high-level awards, including the Academy of Management’s Mentoring Legacy Award in 2004 — also a lifetime achievement award — for outstanding contributions to the research and study of mentoring.
This latest award acknowledges not only her academic record, but Ragins’ long history of service to the university.
“Throughout her career, Belle has consistently demonstrated a strong commitment to advancing diversity and inclusiveness, and to facilitating educational opportunities and promoting a supportive environment for colleagues and students alike,” says Dean Kaushal Chari.
Among those activities is her service leadership in the area of mentoring. Ragins is a founding advisory board member of the Lubar College’s Multicultural Mentoring Program, where she also leads the annual orientation and training for the business professional mentors working with the college’s multicultural and first-generation students.
She is an award-winning teacher, and most recently developed a new graduate certificate in Organizational Leadership in Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in the Lubar College.
Ragins has served on a multitude of DEI-related committees and task forces over her career at the college, university, and system level, Chari says.
Professor Ragins’ acceptance remarks from the awards program can be viewed here.