Riley Institute Unveils Diversity Leadership Academy of Upstate South Carolina
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| Former U.S. Secretary of Education Richard W. Riley makes a point during Tuesday's DLA meeting. Juan Johnson, president of the American Institute for Managing Diversity, listens in the background. The DLA is sponsored by Furman's Riley Institute. | GREENVILLE, S.C. - Furman University's Richard W. Riley Institute of Government, Politics and Public Leadership has unveiled its new Diversity Leadership Academy (DLA) of Upstate South Carolina, a comprehensive program aimed at helping the area's corporate and community leaders better understand the diverse community in which they work and live.
The inaugural program included 38 Upstate leaders who met one day per month over the past five months to engage in learning exercises concerning a variety of diversity issues. The 38 leaders were divided into five groups and each developed a community diversity project, which was presented to the entire DLA membership Tuesday, Dec. 9 in a meeting on the Furman campus.
"The impetus for this program originated with the corporate community," said Calder Ehrman, Diversity Corporate Director for Michelin North America, Inc. "In order to develop and sustain a more diverse work force, we needed to explore the options for making the Upstate a more conducive and accepting environment in which to work and live. The Diversity Leadership Academy provides us with an excellent opportunity to do that."
The DLA of Upstate South Carolina, which was developed with the aid of the Atlanta-based American Institute for Managing Diversity, is designed to build leadership skills and develop competencies that can identify important diversity issues and bring about effective solutions. The Furman program was designed with the Upstate's historical, current and prospective diversity opportunities and challenges in mind.
The 38 members met all day (8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.) during their five gatherings at Furman (twice), the Westin Poinsett, Michelin and BMW. The meetings included classroom work, group assignments, case studies, role-playing exercises, and the application of tools to real-world diversity opportunities and challenges.
The Furman program was facilitated by Juan Johnson, vice president for Coca-Cola and president of the American Institute for Managing Diversity, and Kathy Lee, master facilitator of the Diversity Leadership Academy. The program was tuition-based and scholarships were provided for the non-profit institutions that participated.
For more information, contact Furman's News and Media Relations office at 864-294-3107.
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12-9-03
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