Co-sponsored by Staff Assembly and the Office of Diversity and Affirmative Action, the Commitment to Diversity Award is presented annually to one career staff member who values diversity and promotes cultural competency, uses effective strategies to resolve conflict, has shown the ability to adapt to, demonstrate and institutionalize cultural competency that enables effective cross-cultural interactions

The nomination criteria for the Diversity Award are:

1. Individual has demonstrated support of the university's Principles of Community, diversity, equal opportunity and affirmative action objectives by making significant contributions to UC Riverside in one or more of the following areas during the past 12 months:

Valuing diversity and promoting cultural competency in individual/unit/division/department activities.
Managing the dynamics of difference by using effective strategies to resolve conflict among people whose cultural backgrounds and values are different.
Assessing one’s culture by recognizing how culture, including the organizational culture, affects others.
Adapting to diversity by making paradigm shifts and behavioral changes to demonstrate cross-cultural recognition. Institutionalizing diversity by incorporating cultural competency into the organization and by integrating knowledge and skills that enable effective cross-cultural interactions.

2. Individual's accomplishments have had local impact and/or national influence/global reach.