Jennifer Lackey receives Daniel I. Linzer Award for Faculty Excellence in Diversity and Equity

Jennifer Lackey has received the 2024 Daniel I. Linzer Award for Faculty Excellence in Diversity and Equity.

Given annually by Northwestern’s Office of the Provost, the award celebrates individuals or groups who work collectively to build a more diverse, inclusive, and equitable climate on campus and enhance diversity across the spectrum, including race, gender, religion, socioeconomic status, age, and political affiliation.

Lackey will be honored at a reception later this winter. The recognition comes with a $5,000 award.

Jennifer Lackey is a professor of philosophy in the Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences. She is being honored for her “indefatigable commitment to and innovative leadership” of the Northwestern Prison Education program (NPEP), which made history in 2023 when incarcerated students inside Stateville Correctional Center were the first in U.S. history to be conferred a bachelor’s degree from a top ten university.

Lackey has worked tirelessly with colleagues and administrators at Northwestern as well as officials within the correctional system to create a program that offers as many as 10 classes per quarter at Stateville and Logan Correctional Center for Women. The program has helped NPEP students to transform their lives.