|  Riley
Institute Diversity Leaders Initiative
 |
Dr.
R. Roosevelt Thomas, Jr. |
Dr.
R. Roosevelt Thomas, Jr.
Furman University
October 19, 2005
Daunting images
of devastation in Hurricane Katrina’s wake showed predominately
poor, minority families struggling to survive and rebuild. Image
after image told a story of poverty and race in the midst of a national
crisis. But, was the tragedy’s aftermath largely a race issue?
On Wednesday,
October 19, The Riley Institute at Furman sponsored a talk by Dr.
R. Roosevelt Thomas, Jr., president and founder of the American
Institute for Managing Diversity, Inc (AIMD). Dr. Thomas’
talk, “Katrina: A Diversity Issue Beyond Race and Poverty”
examined how diversity management would have helped to address issues
exposed by Katrina. He also contended that diversity mixtures affected
crises at the federal, state and local emergency management levels.
The event
was held at Furman in Johns Hall 101 at 7:30 pm. A reception followed
in the John’s Hall foyer.
For 20 years,
Dr. Thomas has been at the forefront of developing and implementing
innovative concepts and strategies for maximizing organizational
and individual potential through Diversity Management. He currently
serves as CEO of R. Thomas Consulting & Training, Inc., along
with his work with AIMD. Dr. Thomas founded AIMD as a non-profit
research and education enterprise that quickly became known as the
seminal source for managing diversity concepts and strategies. The
Institute focused initially on workforce diversity and later expanded
to create a diversity framework for addressing general management
issues such as the integration of multiple lines of business, and
acquisitions and mergers.
Dr. Thomas’s
published works include Giraffe and Elephant: A Diversity Fable;
Designing a House for Diversity: A Personal Blueprint for Diversity
Effectiveness; Building a House for Diversity: A Fable about a Giraffe
and an Elephant offers New Strategies for Today’s Workforce;
Redefining Diversity, Differences Do Make a Difference; and Beyond
Race and Gender: Unleashing the Power of Your Total Work Force by
Managing Diversity. In addition to his writing, Dr. Thomas
has developed a series of videotapes.
Dr. Thomas
is a Fellow of the National Academy of Human Resources and has also
been recognized by The Wall Street Journal as one of the top ten
consultants in the country and cited by Human Resource Executive
as one of HR’s Most Influential People. In 1995, he received
the American Society for Training and Development’s, “Distinguished
Contribution to Human Resource Development” Award.
For more information
about the Diversity Leadership Academy of the Upstate please visit
their website
or call the Riley Institute at 864.294.3251.
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