Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images(LOS ANGELES) — Following last year’s #OscarsSoWhite controversy, Cheryl Boone Isaacs, president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, says the diverse slate of 2017 Oscar nominees announced Tuesday was made possible by “an abundance of films that represented inclusion.”

Isaacs, who was re-elected for her fourth term as president of the Academy in August, says making inclusion a priority has been a process.

“We know, all of us in the film business, that the cycle and the life of a motion picture during its production marketing and distribution can happen in many different ways and it just so happened that this year we had an abundance of films that represented inclusion,” Isaacs tells ABC News’ Nick Watt. “Which is something that we are of course are very much a part of and involved with.”

In June, the Academy invited a record 683 new members to its organization, with members of the new class being 46 percent female and 41 percent people of color. Those new members included Star Wars actor John Boyega, Idris Elba, and Being Mary Jane‘s Gabrielle Union.

Isaacs says the Academy’s goal has always been to foster new and diverse talent, “And our initiative of course has been centered around our membership and our governance. And our members of course, reach out through all aspects of the motion picture business,” she says.

“And part of that initiative is the hiring, the mentoring and the promotion of inclusion, if you will, in all aspects of motion pictures,” said Isaacs.

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