Joe Hetrick, senior director of ITS Research Services, has received the university's 2021 Staff Award for Distinguished Leadership in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.

The award recognizes Hetrick’s work to support and recruit more women and other people underrepresented in information technology, as well as his focus on building an inclusive work environment.

“Joe uses inclusive hiring practices and encourages other IT managers to do the same,” said Genevieve Johnson, senior application developer for ITS Research Services, who nominated Hetrick for the honor. “These practices have helped our group become one of the most diverse in ITS.”

Johnson and others cited Hetrick’s role in:

• Founding the Male Allies in IT group to work alongside the Women in Technology and Black Men in IT communities on diversity, equity, and inclusion issues
• Developing and piloting flexible work arrangements with the ITS Future of Work committee, advocating measures that better support women in IT
• Anonymizing resumes and taking other steps to reduce bias in hiring
• Actively building candidate pools and pipelines by connecting with campus organizations and revising student-job postings to welcome diverse backgrounds

“As a student, I’ve always felt like a valued member of Joe’s team,” said Bethany Junge, a student employee with ITS Research Services. “Many team members, including students, come from a variety of education and career backgrounds. Choices like these bring together diverse personalities and experiences.”

Hetrick was one of 28 UI staff and faculty to receive university honors this year.