Dr. Tasneem Khaleel Award for Mentoring Young Female Professionals
Dr. Ana K. Diaz
Associate Professor, English, Philosophy & Modern Languages, CLASS
Dr. Ana Diaz is a committed faculty member who provides mentorship and academic support to women students. She has also contributed valuable work in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, and has brought her students along in her work. As co-chair of MSUB’s DEI Council, Diaz has taken a lead in advocating for DEI work at MSUB, such as chairing meetings; providing outreach to various campus departments; working with faculty, staff, and students to offer the admission application in other languages; creating a diversity statement; and many other projects.
Diaz is also a public member of the Montana Board of Medical Examiners and the Lead for Native American, Veteran and Hispanic Outreach at MSUB. She is also the Hispanic Outreach Coordinator for MSUB and a member of the Hispanic Outreach Committee that has been working on several initiatives to highlight the presence of the Hispanic community in Billings and MSUB. For three years, Diaz was a member of the American Philosophical Association’s Committee on Hispanics, which is charged with assessing and reporting on the status of Hispanics and Latinos/as in the profession and identifying discriminatory practices affecting Hispanics and Latinos/as in their profession. Diaz also serves as the Athletic Diversity and Inclusion Designee for MSUB, a position created by the NCAA.
The culmination of Diaz’s work illuminates her strong commitment to MSUB and the community and makes her a well deserving recipient of the Dr. Tasneem Khaleel Award for Mentoring Young Female Professionals Award. Her nominator adds that “Dr. Diaz presents thoughtful approaches to solving problems, has a great sense of humor, and is a model for all students, young women especially, as a powerful example of a brilliant, engaged, and kind faculty member.”