RCC Receives National Award for Higher Education Excellence

Rockland Community College (RCC) has received the 2025 Higher Education Excellence and Distinction (HEED) Award from INSIGHT Into Academia magazine, the nation’s oldest and largest diversity-focused publication in higher education.

The 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. RCC is one of 61 institutions to be featured in the October 2025 issue of INSIGHT Into Academia.

This marks the fifth consecutive year RCC has been named a HEED Award recipient.

“Receiving the HEED Award for the fifth consecutive year is a tremendous honor,” said Dr. William P. Mullaney, president of Rockland Community College. “It’s a testament to the dedication of our faculty, staff and students, and to our shared commitment to creating a campus where everyone feels valued, supported and empowered to succeed.”

“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,” says Lenore Pearlstein, Co-Publisher of Insight into Academia magazine

For more information about the 2025 HEED Award, visit www.insightintodiversity.com.

For more information about Rockland Community College, visit www.sunyrockland.edu.

About Rockland Community College

Founded in 1959, Rockland Community College (RCC) provides students with a high-quality education that is both affordable and accessible. RCC offers 35 degree and 3 certificate programs, and a faculty that includes Fulbright scholars and SUNY Distinguished Professors. In addition to its main campus in Suffern, RCC operates a Hospitality and Culinary Arts Center in Nyack, and its Automotive Technology Center in Orangeburg. For more information about RCC, please visit sunyrockland.edu.

About Insight into Academia

Insight Into Academia magazine is the largest and oldest diversity and inclusion publication in higher education today. Insight is the leader in recognizing inclusive excellence in higher education through its many prestigious awards, and in advancing best practices in inclusive excellence and belonging through their website and print magazine.

At Insight’s online Career Center, readers will also discover career opportunities that connect job seekers with institutions and businesses that embrace a diverse and inclusive workforce. Current,archived, and digital issues of Insight into Academia magazine are available online at insightintoacademia.com.