MANAGEMENT EXPERT TO DISCUSS CULTURAL DIVERSITY IN HIGHER EDUCATION

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

SANTA CRUZ, CA--Cultural diversity has become such a buzz phrase that when Dr. Judy B. Rosener gives talks on the subject, she often feels compelled to ask her audience to think about why it is important to value diversity. "The reason to value diversity is not because it's politically correct but because diversity makes for a rich learning environment," says Rosener, an expert in organizational management.

Rosener will discuss the value of cultural diversity in higher education during a free public lecture at UC Santa Cruz on Tuesday, May 10, at 4 p.m. in the Stevenson Fireside Lounge. Her talk is titled "Valuing Cultural Diversity: Why Should You Care?"

Rosener is on the faculty of the Graduate School of Management at the University of California, Irvine. She teaches and does research in the areas of cultural diversity, men and women at work, and business and government. She is coauthor of Workforce America! Managing Employee Diversity as a Vital Resource, which is used in corporations, government agencies, and educational institutions.

"Diversity has to do with differences in the way problems are conceptualized and solved, as well as with race, gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, and physical ability," says Rosener. "The corporate world is beginning to understand this. A great example is car design. Obviously, if women had been designing cars, there would be a place for a purse."

Rosener will talk about why the corporate world increasingly views cultural diversity as a resource, while campuses still tend to view it as a problem. Although diversity makes things more complicated, Rosener maintains that the difficulties are offset by its value as a source of new ideas and ways of thinking. "Because new ideas are so fundamental to research and teaching, I often wonder why educational institutions see diversity primarily in terms of affirmative action compliance," she says.

Rosener's lecture is the third in the Chancellor's Distinguished Seminar Series on Mission, Quality, and Diversity, established in the fall by Chancellor Karl S. Pister and the Academic Senate. The seminars are the public part of a program in which prominent women and minorities spend a day with faculty and students to discuss how to improve the quality of higher education in the United States. For more information, call the UCSC Public Information Office at (408) 459-2495.

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