IISE Received Diversity Award

Marking the beginning of the year 2020, IISE was awarded a Certificate of Appreciation for the nomination to the 2020 Diversity award. The award, called Employer Diversity Recognition Awards (EDRA), is a unique award in that students nominate employers that they believe demonstrate and advocate for diversity and inclusion in the workplace. Each year, employers for Pitt, small and large businesses, government and non-profit organizations are honored for their practices that help students who identify as diverse feel welcomed and valued for their unique contributions in the workplace. The award was conferred by Pitt Career Center.

The award was presented during the 4th Diversity+You Career Conference held Friday, January 24, 2020 at William Pitt Union. Maureen McClure, Director of IISE, received the award, accompanied by Dao Nguyen and Jorge Delgado.

 

 

IISE has been an all-time advocate of diversity in the workplace. Diversity promotes respect, acceptance and teamwork, irrespective of age, gender, race, language, beliefs, political views, sexual orientation, or communication styles among members. When such different minds and backgrounds collaborate to innovate and to reach a common goal, the result can be enormous.

Maureen McClure, Director of IISE emphasizes this. “Diverse workplaces are no longer discretionary. They are instead, necessary. IISE couldn’t function without high levels of diversity. We need more. There are multiple reasons for that. First, many of the problems facing international and global education today are so complex, they need multiple points of view. This requires interdisciplinary diversity. Second, complex cultural environments need many friendly way finders and translators, just to function. Third, it is a lot of creative fun.”

 

 

The diversity elements in IISE is, in fact, reflected in many ways—the people, the perspectives, the programs and the outreach sites, among others. Past and current team members and affiliates of IISE came from different countries, races, faiths, and cultural backgrounds. Together, they simultaneously bring in diverse ideas, values and knowledge in accomplishing IISE tasks and projects.

Dao, the IISE Project Coordinator, affirms this. “The award this year is a milestone recognition for IISE in its human resource development policy, such as hiring people of different gender, races, origins, professions, and experiences. More importantly, the hiring and retaining diverse and inclusive personnel have been made on merit and on personal development potentials.”

Central in IISE leaderships is the presence and inclusion of multiple perspectives. Dao added, “in IISE, different viewpoints and cultures are embraced, promoted, and well-integrated for the best institutional performance and problem solution. Without participative and situational leadership, IISE could not have sustained values of diversity, inclusion and quality in its operation.”

 

 

Maureen McClure expressed her gratitude on the award. “I am deeply honored that IISE received two independent EDRA nominations by students. The best awards are those that come unsolicited from those who carry the weight of the organization.  Many of our team members are mid-career professionals with substantial knowledge and experience. This makes the award even more valuable to me.”

 

 

 

Other 2020 EDRA nominees included the Global Studies Center, SAP, the Learning Research Development Center (LRDC), the Office of Undergraduate Research and the Pitt News, among others. The Career Center also nominated non-Pitt employers, such as BikePgh, Black Tech Nation, Chick-Fil-A Woodbury Town Center, Deloitte Consulting, Millies’ Homemade Ice Cream, Nike Inc, and PNC Bank, for their commitment on diversity.  

The Pitt Career Center has placed an important mission in their works to support students who identify as diverse, and to educate all students to be allies and advocates for each other in the workplace. The Center continue to provide programming to build awareness about the positive impacts on employees and organizations that adopt an intercultural perspective and support the unique expressions of ideas and values.