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September 15, 2025


San Diego Mesa College Receives Insight Into Academia 2025 Higher Education Excellence and Distinction (HEED) Award

By Office of Communications

Higher Education Excellence and Distinction (HEED) Award Logo
San Diego, CA — September 15, 2025 — Today, San Diego Mesa College received the 2025 Higher Education Excellence and Distinction (HEED) Award from Insight Into Academia magazine. The annual HEED Award is a national honor recognizing U.S. colleges and universities that demonstrate an outstanding commitment to academic excellence, belonging, and community-building across all levels of campus life.  
Mesa College will be featured in the October 2025 issue of Insight Into Academia magazine, alongside 61 other recipients, including eight community colleges. This marks the first time Mesa College has received the Higher Education Excellence and Distinction Award.  
“Receiving the HEED Award affirms Mesa College’s ongoing commitment to equity, excellence, and belonging. This recognition reflects the daily work of our community to ensure every student feels seen, supported, and empowered to succeed.” — Dr. Ashanti T. Hands, President, San Diego Mesa College  
“We take a detailed and somewhat holistic approach to reviewing each application in determining who will be named a HEED Award recipient. Our standards are high, and we look for institutions where academic excellence and belonging are woven into the work being done every day across their campus,” said Lenore Pearlstein, Co-Publisher of Insight Into Academia magazine.  
 
For more information about the 2025 HEED Award, visit www.insightintoacademia.com.     
For more information about San Diego Mesa College, visit www.sdmesa.edu 
 
Recipients of the 2025 HEED Award are: 

 

Undergraduate Institutions 

Agnes Scott College 

Arkansas State University 

Binghamton University 

Cal State LA 

California State University San Marcos 

California State University, Fullerton 

Colorado College 

Davenport University 

DePaul University 

Drexel University 

Elon University 

Framingham State University 

Gonzaga University 

Gwynedd Mercy University 

Hope College 

Lehigh University 

Maryville University 

Metropolitan State University of Denver 

Millersville University of Pennsylvania 

Mount Holyoke College 

Nazareth University 

New York Institute of Technology 

Northern Illinois University 

Oklahoma State University 

Portland State University 

Regis College 

Rochester Institute of Technology 

San Diego State University 

Santa Clara University 

Southern Illinois University Edwardsville 

Stony Brook University 

Suffolk University 

SUNY Old Westbury 

SUNY Oneonta 

Swarthmore College 

Texas Christian University 

Trinity College 

UC Merced 

University at Albany, State University of New York 

University of California, Berkeley 

University of Cincinnati 

University of Georgia 

University of Louisville 

University of Massachusetts Amherst 

University of Massachusetts Boston 

University of Massachusetts Lowell 

University of New Hampshire 

University of Oregon 

University of Vermont 

West Chester University of Pennsylvania 

Law & Graduate Schools 

Adler University 

Johns Hopkins School of Education 

Suffolk University School of Law 

 

Community Colleges 

Anne Arundel Community College 

Clark College 

Community College of Aurora 

Hudson County Community College 

Long Beach City College 

Pikes Peak State College 

Rockland Community College 

San Diego Mesa College 

William Rainey Harper College 

 

 

 

 

 
 
 
About Insight Into Academia 

Insight Into Academia magazine is the leader in advancing best practices in higher education excellence and belonging. Through thought-provoking print and online articles, Insight shares expert advice, valuable resources, in-depth profiles of top programs at colleges and universities, headline news, and much more to help keep readers informed and empower them to advance initiatives at their institutions. 
At Insight’s online Career Center, readers will also discover career opportunities that connect job seekers with hundreds of institutions. Current, archived, and digital issues of Insight Into Academia magazine are available online at insightintoacademia.com. 

Tags: Higher Education Excellence and Distinction (HEED) Award, Insight Into Academia, Press Release