The UC Riverside School of Medicine has received the 2026 Higher Education Excellence and Distinction (HEED) Award from Insight Into Academia magazine, the oldest and largest publication focused on best practices in higher education.
The award recognizes U.S. colleges and universities that demonstrate an outstanding commitment to academic excellence, belonging, and community-building across all levels of campus life.
UCR will be featured, along with 60 other recipients, in the October 2026 issue of Insight Into Academia magazine.
Dr. Deborah Deas, the vice chancellor for health sciences and the Mark and Pam Rubin Dean of the School of Medicine, said receiving the HEED Award for the ninth time is a “meaningful honor, because it reflects the steady, everyday commitment of our students, faculty, and staff.”
“Fostering a culture of belonging, equity, and academic excellence isn’t a separate initiative, it is who we are,” she said. “This recognition validates the work being done in medical education, research, and patient care every day to serve Inland Southern California.”
Insight Into Academia magazine uses a detailed scoring process and a holistic approach to determine HEED Award recipients.
“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,” said Lenore Pearlstein, co-publisher of Insight into Academia magazine.