Diverse Conversations: School Diversity Program Mirrors Workplace - Higher Education

Diverse Conversations: School Diversity Program Mirrors Workplace - Higher Education: Business schools around the country are thinking about ways to implement programs that increase diversity on campus. Steve Reinemund, dean of the Wake Forest University School of Business, instituted the Corporate Fellowship program shortly after he arrived at the school in 2008, which helped the Master of Arts (MA) in Management program achieve the same kind of diversity found in today’s workplace.

Q: What prompted you and the university to institute the Corporate Fellowship program?

A: We had several objectives. We wanted to create a program that would attract liberal arts graduates, with no prior work experience, and offer both the educational background and the vocational discernment to prepare them for successful careers in business. It’s important to know how to lead in a multicultural environment. So, one priority of this program was to recruit a student body that mirrors the global marketplace in, as a start, its racial and gender makeup.