Where We Are 
New Business Diversity Minor and Center
The Pamplin College of Business launched a business diversity minor last fall, expanding its teaching and research programs that prepare students for culturally diverse workplaces and that contribute to greater understanding among businesses and other organizations of the impact of diversity and multiculturalism on individual effectiveness and corporate competitiveness.
The minor, an 18-credit program for business majors who are juniors and seniors, was developed by associate professor of management Mary Connerley, who also directs Pamplin’s Business Diversity Center. The center, established in 2007, coordinates the college’s teaching and research programs in business diversity.
National employment trends, Connerley says, show an increasingly diverse workforce. "Our graduates must be able to interact effectively with others from diverse backgrounds. Learning from others who are not the same and creating workplace environments where all employees are valued can be both a source of personal growth and professional competitive advantage."
While employers want leaders who value diversity, she says, reports from the Bureau of Labor Statistics and other organizations indicate that college graduates are deficient in diversity or multicultural skills. "Thus, there is a discrepancy between what employers seek and what higher education produces."
The curriculum in the business diversity minor has been designed to give students a broad view of diversity and its impact on organizations, she says. "The minor is relevant for all business majors."
The program has several distinct goals. "Our main goal is to develop our students’ awareness, knowledge, and skills related to workplace diversity so that they are able to take a leadership role in managing diversity and multiculturalism in their careers and workplaces," says Connerley.
The program aims to help students acquire "a vocabulary so that they can more effectively develop ideas around issues of gender, ethnicity, disabilities, age, and cultural difference within a corporate context." Another objective is to give students greater awareness and understanding of their own cultural values, attitudes, and beliefs and how these influence behavior and interactions in the workplace.
Completing the business diversity minor, she says, will help students not only to manage and lead, but also to interact with and follow others in a diversified workplace. "They will be able to communicate with others in a culturally sensitive and respectful manner; evaluate applicants and employees fairly by understanding diverse values, attitudes, and beliefs; and generally work in ways that promote rather than hinder workplace diversity."
Connerley sought feedback from various groups while developing the program. The minor has been met with "great enthusiasm" by students, business leaders, and recruiters from around the country, she says. "Executives often want to know why more business colleges are not offering a diversity-related minor."
Connerley, who specializes in diversity, cross-cultural and expatriate issues, and various aspects of the staffing process, has received many teaching and research honors and awards, including five annual grants from the General Motors/United Negro College Fund Sullivan Fellowship Program that seeks to promote principles of corporate social responsibility developed by the late Reverend Leon H. Sullivan.
Connerley, who serves on the Pamplin College’s diversity committee and co-authored a book, Leadership in a Diverse and Multicultural Environment, has given presentations at various national conferences about developing diversity programs and led a workshop for Pamplin faculty last fall.
The college is making good progress in building upon its long-term commitment to diversity, says Pamplin Dean Richard E. Sorensen. "We believe that this academic minor, which may be the first such to be offered at any university, offers a good way for our students to learn more about diversity issues in the workplace." The objectives of the minor, he says, also reflect Virginia Tech’s Principles of Community and the principles espoused in Pamplin’s own "Diversity as a Core Value" statement.
Diversity related goals, Sorensen notes, have been part of the college’s strategic plan for a number of years. The college has sponsored a Diversity Committee of faculty and students since 1987. In the fall of 1997, it adopted the "Diversity as a Core Value" statement, written by the committee and discussed and approved by the college’s faculty and staff. More recently, the college created an award for diversity excellence to honor faculty for outstanding contributions to the college’s diversity programs.
The college’s student-led Multicultural Diversity Council has attracted corporate speakers and financial support as well as numerous student participants for its conferences on diversity issues.
For more information about Pamplin’s diversity programs, please contact:
Mary Connerley, Director Business Diversity Center
28 Pamplin Hall
Virginia Tech
Blacksburg, VA 24061
540-231-7372
e-mail: maryc@vt.edu