On April 1, the College officially concluded the first-ever Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Grow the Good in Business Case Competition. After two months and three rounds of competition, the top three teams of Specialized Master’s students presented their business solutions to narrowing the wealth gap in Indiana.

While all three teams developed proposals that would lead to meaningful advancements in diversity, equity and inclusion, the top prize of $7,000 went to Team O’Hara, composed of Master of Science in Management students Katelyn Derifield, Maya Dodson, Maria Schorr and Kelly Straub. Team O’Hara focused on fostering collaborative relationships between anchor institutions and minority-owned businesses, and creating workplace engagement programs to connect community members, including high school students, with education and career opportunities.

This case competition was certainly a passion project for both of us, but one that was also successful by many metrics. The 30 teams of Specialized Master’s students who voluntarily opted into this case competition walked away from the experience with a strong sense of what it means to “Grow the Good in Business.” The competition also provided the students with a rigorous academic experience that afforded them the opportunity to use and improve their leadership, problem solving, teamwork and presentation skills outside of the classroom, and later talk about their business proposals during job interviews.

Additionally, because students were encouraged to form teams across Specialized Master’s programs, the DE&I case competition strengthened their sense of collaboration. Not only did we have teams from all five residential programs register, but we also had all five programs represented in the top 10. One of the teams that made it to the final round was composed of students from both the MNA and MSBA programs, and their pitch coach was a faculty member from the MSA program. In traditional coursework, such cross-program collaboration would not be possible!

In many ways, this case competition was absolutely necessary in order to truly prepare students to be future business leaders in our modern society. Because we created workshops for competition participants and aligned the competition with spring Interterm programming, we were able to deliver formal education on various topics related to DE&I to nearly 150 residential Specialized Master’s students. This is notable, given the short duration of our programs and lack of such formal learning opportunities in our graduate curriculum. Examples of the workshops included Social Justice, Poverty and the Wealth Gap; Inclusive Language & Voicing Values; Diversity Through the Lens of Catholic Social Teaching; Managing Diverse Teams; and a DE&I Corporate Sponsor Panel with 1st Source Bank.

The success of this case competition would not have been possible without the support of so many of you. You answered the call to use your work of educating future business leaders to guarantee that diverse voices, experiences and backgrounds are valued, respected and nurtured. In addition to the Mendoza faculty and staff listed below who served as case writers, judges and competition organizers, we want to offer our special gratitude to Joan McClendon for remaining committed to the competition despite a new position in UEE, Minhee Myung for creating our beautiful website, Jessica Stookey and Martin Johnson for creating unique networking and practice opportunities for students, Wendy Walker for supplying the food and fun, Karma Grundy for her administrative support, Mendoza IT for guaranteeing that our opening and closing events ran smoothly, and Mendoza Communications for assisting with signage and promotions. We were also blessed by the support of MBA students, alumni, campus leaders outside of Mendoza, and corporate sponsors who volunteered to serve in various capacities throughout the competition, including by mentoring our students.

We recognize the opportunities and challenges in diversity, equity and inclusion are complex and ongoing, and there’s much work to be done. We hope that this year’s case competition is just one example of the many ways in which Mendoza continues this meaningful and critical work.

Kristen Collett-Schmitt

Associate Dean for Specialized Master’s Programs

Jessica McManus Warnell
Associate Teaching Professor of Management & Organization

We want to start this column about creating a diverse and welcoming environment at Mendoza by thanking the many of you who have devoted a lot of time and hard work to the effort. In the past year, we’ve been able to offer many workshops, listening sessions and surveys, partnerships with outside organizations and across campus, and even a new case competition devoted solely to DE&I. Together, these combined efforts speak to the importance we all place on recognizing the strength of a diverse College community.

In this column, we want to highlight a particular DE&I initiative at the University that Mendoza has been an integral part of – the Employee Resource Groups (ERGs). ERGs are formal groups sponsored by Human Resources created to support networking and social outlets for specific groups of employees, their family members and allies. They also assist the University with recruitment, retention and educational activities. Their intention is to serve as a kind of gathering point for people who share common interests or concerns, and to strengthen a sense of belonging and community.

There are currently eight ERGs on campus: Adelante Hispanos, Black Faculty and Staff Association, Association of Faculty and Staff of Chinese Heritage (FSCH), Notre Dame Staff of International Descent (NDSID), Notre Dame Veterans Association, Spectrum LGBTQ+ & Ally, THRIVE! Inspiring ND Women, and Young Leaders. This month, the University will launch a ninth ERG for individuals with disabilities.

Of these nine ERGs, Mendoza staff members are leading the efforts across three ERGs and several other staff members are actively involved:

We encourage all Mendoza faculty and staff to learn more and get involved with the ERGs, either to support you in your specific needs or to provide support to others who may be facing challenges that you have already experienced and have some insights to offer. The groups also can be important sources for networking, professional development and career advancement, and overall enrich your personal and professional journey as part of this great University.

As Dean Cremers has said, “As a community that recognizes every person’s intrinsic human dignity, it is incumbent on us to contribute to the flourishing of each individual and to contribute to our community, recognizing our reciprocal responsibilities and supporting one another. A spirit of diversity, equity and inclusion reflects this fundamental belief and underlies all that we do.”

We are a stronger community when we recognize and celebrate diversity, and draw together to support each other in our differing aspirations and needs.

Gratefully,

Kara Palmer
Senior Director of Administration and Program Management

Rob Kelly
Senior Director of Operations