Harvard Business School cultural experts David Thomas, Robin Ely to speak
at National Conference on Diversity and Learning at UGA May 18-20

Two top experts in cultural diversity from the Harvard Business School will be keynote speakers at the National Conference on the Intersection of Diversity and Learning hosted by the University of Georgia May 18-20.

David Thomas, senior associate dean, director of faculty recruiting and H. Naylor Fitzhugh Professor of business administration at Harvard Graduate School of Business Administration and Robin Ely, associate professor of organizational behavior at Harvard Business School will speak at the invitation-only conference co-sponsored by UGA's Colleges of Education and Arts and Sciences at the Georgia Center for Continuing Education.

Thomas' work bridges contexts such as community organizations, corporations, and K-12 schools. Ely's research explores how organizations can better manage race and gender relations while at the same time increasing effectiveness. Both scholars have co-authored many articles and papers together, publishing in renowned journals such as the Harvard Business Review and Administrative Science Quarterly.

The overarching theme of the working conference is the relationship between diversity and learning throughout different yet interconnected contexts, which include: pre-K-12 education, higher education, the community, the workplace, and preparing future faculty. The intellectual significance of the conference comes from the interdisciplinary dialogue in which participants will engage during the two days. Experts who study diversity in these different disciplines and contexts will lead conference participants in an exploration and identification of the critical issues that are unique to the study of the diversity-learning relationship. The goal of the conference is to develop an interdisciplinary and comprehensive agenda for a research program regarding diversity and learning within these disciplines. 

Conference participants will consider and identify in five strands:

• Teaching strategies for pre-K-12 education that encourage girls and students of color to pursue further coursework in the sciences, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).
• Best practices for recruiting and retaining women and minority students in STEM majors and graduate course work.
• Organizational policies and practices that create inclusive climates for diversity within STEM workplaces and professions.
• Strategies for using technology in order to create opportunities for community development, especially in poor and minority communities.
• Organizational policies and practices that create inclusive climates for diversity within higher education.
  
  Discussion leaders for each of the five areas include:
   
  •  Sonia Nieto, professor of language, literacy and culture, University of Massachusetts, Amherst;
  •  Robin Ely, associate professor of organizational behavior, Harvard Business School;
  •  Christine Stanley, associate dean of faculties and associate professor of higher education administration, Texas A&M University;
  •  Velma McBride Murry, professor of child and family development, co-director of the Center of Family Research in the Institute for Behavioral Research, UGA; and
  •  Ed Delgado-Romero, associate professor of counseling psychology, UGA.
  
  The conference, funded by a $47,539 grant from the National Science Foundation, supports the Board of Regents' on-going teacher-preparation initiative, aimed at strengthening all levels of Georgia's educational system, to double the number and diversity of the teachers the University System prepares by 2010.
  
  UGA faculty member Janette Hill of educational psychology and instructional technology is the principal investigator of the project. The grant team also includes Kecia Thomas of psychology; Robert Fecho of language and literacy education; and Talmadge Guy of lifelong education, administration, and policy.
  
  
  Additional information and post-conference information can be found at:
  http://www.arches.uga.edu/~janette/diversity

 

Monday, May 15, 2006
Writer: Michael Childs, 706/542-5889, mdchilds@uga.edu
Contact: Janette Hill, 706/542-4035, janette@uga.edu