Posts Tagged ‘multicultural forum’

25th Annual Multicultural Forum on Workplace Diversity Begins Today

Wednesday, April 10th, 2013

MCF Logo 25The 25th Annual Multicultural Forum on Workplace Diversity kicks off today with a full day of informative sessions and discussions on the theme, Our Time to Lead. This reflects the legacy and evolution of diversity and inclusion over the last 25 years:  opening doors of opportunity, igniting change, and challenging organizations to respond to an ever-changing landscape of social, political, economic and technological realities.  Today, the unprecedented shifts of our time call us to meet these challenges.

Four signature events, or general sessions, offer a path to strengthen individual and collective leadership capacity for the challenges and opportunities ahead. The conference will also feature 58 concurrent learning sessions, a Resource Expo, free Career Fair and Career Services Center. Pre-Conference Professional Development Institutes took place yesterday.

If you’re unable to attend the conference, follow @MCFdiversity and #diversityforum on Twitter.

In addition three champions of workplace diversity will be honored during a Thursday, April 11, luncheon. Each year the forum honors individuals or organizations for their exemplary efforts to address workplace diversity issues. Recipients are: (more…)

5 Reasons to Attend the Multicultural Forum (plus one more)

Tuesday, April 2nd, 2013

The 25th annual Multicultural Forum will take place next week at the Minneapolis Convention Center. The blog Smartgiving Matters last week compiled a great list of 5 reasons to attend, particularly of you work in the nonprofit world. The post was by Lynnea Atlas-Ingebretson, the Charities Review Council’s Program Director, who will be representing her organization at the Forum. Her list:

  1. Cross Sector Pollination
  2. World Class Thinkers & Leaders
  3. Good Scholarships!
  4. Great Sessions
  5. Professional Development Institutes

Read Atlas-Ingebretson’s full post for details on each of these items. (more…)

‘Our Time to Lead’ is Theme of 25th Multicultural Forum on Workplace Diversity in Minneapolis April 9-11

Tuesday, March 26th, 2013

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“Our Time to Lead” is the theme of the 25th annual Multicultural Forum on Workplace Diversity, a national conference that will be held April 9 to 11 at the Minneapolis Convention Center.

The forum is sponsored by Target and presented by the Opus College of Business at the University of St. Thomas in partnership with the National Black MBA Association Twin Cities.

The forum is designed for professionals who manage a diverse workforce, are responsible for diversity within organizations of all sizes, or work with multicultural clientele. The largest diversity and inclusion conference in the country, the forum attracts more than 1,200 participants from 35 states and more than 400 companies.

The forum runs Wednesday and Thursday, April 10 and 11. A Career Services Center will be held Tuesday and Wednesday, April 9 and 10, and a Career Fair will be held Wednesday, April 10. More than 50 Midwest companies will be represented at the Career Services Center and Career Fair, which are free and open to the public. (more…)

2012 Multicultural Forum Wrap-up

Friday, April 13th, 2012

The 24th annual Multicultural Forum on Workplace Diversity, A Time for Innovation, was held last month at the Minneapolis Convention Center. More than 900 participants joined by over 750 exhibitors and career fair candidates filled the convention center halls and meeting rooms to hear presentations by diversity experts and to interact with each other. Attendees came from 26 states and more than 300 organizations. The 162 presenters in 64 sessions represented more than 114 corporate, educational, government, legal and nonprofit organizations.

Highlights included keynotes by Carol Evans, president of Working Mother Media, Steve Frost, head of diversity and inclusion for the 2012 London Olympics and Paralympics and Sergio Rial, CFO of Cargill. Each had a unique perspective on the global implications of diverse and inclusive workplaces and the impact that has on innovation.

Conference director, Steve Humerickhouse, along with OCB Dean, Christopher Puto, welcomed the assembly on the first morning. In his address, Humerickhouse spurred on participants with these words: (more…)

“Them vs. Us”—8 Ways to Bridge the Gap

Friday, February 3rd, 2012

Workplaces are one of the few places in society where we don’t get to choose who we associate with. With this in mind, understanding different backgrounds and viewpoints is important for being successful in business. Each person’s background defines their world, said Howard Ross. When we hear “diversity,” for many it brings up a “them v. us” feeling, rather than one of inclusion.

Over the past 20 years, we have seen a steady polarizing trend in our country…a movement toward a “them vs. us” way of thinking and acting. The resulting impact on our organizations, our political structure, our economy and our communities threaten the foundations that we hold most dear. A recent Diversity Insights Series conversation brought Howard Ross to campus to discuss why this dynamic happens and what we can do to begin to bridge these gaps in our lives.

ReInventing Diversity Howard Ross is one of the nation’s leading diversity training consultants and a nationally recognized expert on diversity, leadership, and organizational change. He founded Cook Ross in 1989 as a consulting firm dedicated to developing and implementing innovative solutions in diversity and inclusion. In his 90-minute talk, to a (diverse) group of business people from around the Twin Cities, Ross explained how our culture has changed and provided 8 ways to impact our unconscious reactions to “us vs. them.” (more…)

Twelve Statements to Ponder as You Build Your D&I Leadership Potential

Tuesday, January 17th, 2012

This guest post from Richard Friend, Ph.D., Friend and Associates originally appeared on the Multicultural Forum blog.

MCFIf leadership involves the use of self to influence others, and leaders at their best are lifelong learners, this is the perfect time of year to commit to the ongoing self-development required to enhance YOUR diversity and inclusion (D&I) leadership potential. Below are 12 statements to ponder, one per month, over the next year. Explore each statement in writing then discuss them and solicit feedback from your colleagues, trusted friends, family members and from those whose followership you are trying to inspire and mobilize. Pay attention to the themes that emerge each month as you contemplate each of the statements, and notice the patterns that surface during this year long self-reflection process.

Since people follow people before they follow plans, leadership development at its core is a journey inward. The first set of statements focus on knowing yourself, building authenticity and aligning your actions with your values. The remaining few focus more outward on the leadership resources required to influence others. (more…)

Lessons of the benefits of diversity

Tuesday, March 23rd, 2010

Multicultural Forum BannerWell over 1000 registered attendees, speakers, volunteers, and exhibitors from 35 states and Canada gathered at the Minneapolis Convention Center last Wednesday and Thursday for the 22nd annual Multicultural Forum on Workplace Diversity.

The highlight for me this year was hearing Craig Herkert, CEO of SUPERVALU tell his personal journey of discovering the business imperatives of understanding and including diversity in the grocery business. (more…)

Target’s evolution in Diversity & Inclusion; at the Multicultural Forum

Wednesday, March 17th, 2010

Multicultural Forum on Workplace DiversityTodd Williams from Target will co-present with Sara Taylor, from deepSEE Consulting; on the topic of Branding Your Diversity & Inclusion Initiative Thursday at The Multicultural Forum on Workplace Diversity. Todd, a 2009 UST MBC graduate will provide examples of Target’s evolution in the internal and external marketing of its D & I message to its guest and team member base.

ust-mbcTodd’s expertise in this area comes not only from leading Target’s multicultural merchandising strategy, but also stems from his MBC final project work  seeking to understand Target’s relevancy with its African American customers and if a singular marketing approach would be effective in reaching them. (more…)

UST MBA’s Social Media

Monday, February 1st, 2010

Compliments of UST MBA’s The Evening News: If you would like to visit us online, here are some sites for you to check out and join:

Facebook fan pages:
Opus College of Business Fan page
Schulze School of Entrepreneurship Fan Page
B. Magazine Fan Page
Multicultural Forum on Workplace Diversity Fan Page

Twitter accounts:
USTBusiness
USTFamilyBiz
USTHealthcare
MCFDiversity

Linked In groups:
University of St. Thomas – Opus College of Business
University of St. Thomas Master of Business Communication