Amber Dunse, Lecturer in ESL, wins the SLCL Xiaohui Zhang Diversity & Community Engagement Award. Amber won this award based on her continuing important work in two areas:

  • Her leadership as a trained liaison for the IT Accessibility Liaison (ITAL) Program, which led her to suggest and implement significant improvements and awareness of accessibility practices in the ESL Program, and
  • her work as a Co-Coordinator for the Language Partners Program through the Education Justice Project, which seeks to provide education opportunities for incarcerated students at the Danville Correctional Facility.

The Xiaohui Zhang Diversity & Community Engagement Award honors SLCL student Xiaohui Zhang (1985 – 2020) for his exemplary combination of academic and human qualities, as well as for his strong sense of community engagement, which guided his actions during his years at Illinois. The award is given to a graduate student, faculty, and/or staff member in the School who has contributed to the School's mission of promoting a diverse, inclusive, and engaged academic community, and/or who has facilitated meaningful connections between the School and the wider community, in a spirit of respect, partnership, and reciprocity. The award is a very well-deserved recognition for Amber's efforts. Congratulations!