Learning Environment
Valuing Differences
We continually look for ways to address the question of how to achieve ethnic, socioeconomic and geographic diversity among students. The goal is to provide a learning environment that enables graduates to be effective in the kind of world in which they will be living and working. Corporations around the globe have made clear that they are looking for leaders of a diverse workforce and that is what we are working to provide.
Although recent U.S. Supreme Court rulings on affi rmative action have had an impact on admissions policies at some institutions, our policies are in compliance. We are continuing to make efforts to recruit a broad range of students from differing backgrounds.
In 2003, we added the position of assistant dean for the learning environment. Philip Miller is charged with creating and implementing strategies to promote a diverse and inclusive learning environment for students, faculty and staff within the school.
We have long had a leading role in diversity efforts among business schools. The school was one of three founders of the Consortium for Graduate Study in Management, the country’s fi rst graduate fellowship program for minorities.
In fall 2003, 30 graduate students attended the school on Consortium fellowships. Dean Knetter is currently serving a two-year term as chair of the Consortium Board of Directors and Assistant Dean Miller is vice chair.
Our Graduate Programs Offi ce again held its annual Diversity Weekend, bringing prospective students from as far away as California, Texas and New York to Madison to encourage them to enroll in our program. We also participated in The Ph.D. Project, a national program that aims to create more minority business school professors. The school was one of the founders of the program, which began in 1994. Since that time, the number of minority PhDs in business nationally has more than doubled.
At the undergraduate level, we helped revitalize the Multi-Ethnic Business Student Society and worked closely with campus organizations for students of color. To lay the groundwork for undergraduate minority enrollment, in summer 2003, students from Milwaukee high schools attended a special business school program as part of UW-Madison’s Pre-College Enrichment Opportunity Program for Learning Excellence (PEOPLE). The sevenweek program is designed to introduce the students to university life to help them make educational and career decisions.
Looking Ahead
In 2004, several initiatives are planned to enhance services for Consortium for Graduate Study in Management students and alumni. The school’s Committee on Climate and Culture will continue to assess and recommend initiatives to enhance the learning and work environments.