Glimpses of Diversity
Four schools, four approaches to bringing diversity to campus.
by Sharon Shinn
Today's multicultural, globally connected corporations
require diverse employees who are comfortable working
in high finance on Wall Street or on microfinance
projects in emerging economies. And those MNCs are
looking to business schools to produce graduates who not only
reflect a broad ethnic mix, but also have experience working
with all kinds of people from all parts of the world.
Business schools are responding by identifying and educating
diverse students to prepare them for business careers. But
their challenge is not a simple one. As ESSEC Business School's
Pierre Tapie notes, "There is a diversity of human diversities in
the world," and business schools focus on different ones. Some
countries struggle with ethnic diversity; others must see to the
needs of aging populations; and others look for ways to serve
disadvantaged communities.
Here, BizEd presents glimpses of how four universities from
four different regions of the world are working to improve
diversity. These educators explain what diversity means at
their schools and how they're addressing it through outreach
programs and on-campus initiatives. Whether they're mentoring
Native Americans in New Mexico or recruiting Māori in
New Zealand, these schools are determined to diversify their
student bodies—and prepare the next generation of business
leaders to truly lead.
