Shannon Archibeque-Engle, associate vice president for inclusive excellence at Colorado State University, was named the individual winner of the 2021 Experiment Station Committee on Organization and Policy Diversity and Inclusion Award. Launched in 2015, the award recognizes excellence in promoting diversity, equity and inclusion across the country’s agricultural experiment stations.

The ESCOP selection committee commended Archibeque-Engle’s role as an “agent of change” whose leadership resulted in the creation of a certificate program to develop knowledge and skills “in station staff around issues of diversity and inclusion.”

A recognition ceremony was held during the ESCOP meeting in Olympic Valley, California, on Sept. 29. Archibeque-Engle was able to attend and accept her award and provided remarks to the attendees during the Diversity and Inclusion Luncheon.

Archibeque-Engle was nominated by Bret Hess, executive director of the Western Association of Agricultural Experiment Station Directors, Eugene Kelly, deputy director for the Colorado Agricultural Experiment Station, and James Pritchett, dean of the College of Agricultural Sciences. Amy Bibbey, assistant to the director, contributed time and energy pulling the nomination together.

“Shannon’s ongoing work helping Colorado State University and the Agricultural Experiment Station grow in its understanding and practice of inclusive excellence is insurmountable,” Pritchett said. “The award is well deserved, and frankly, understates the catalyzing influence Shannon has had in our organization and among her peers. Shannon is a difference maker.”