Lindner Diversity & Inclusion relaunches as Lindner Office of Inclusive Excellence
New staff, council define vision for the new Office of Inclusive Excellence at the Lindner College of Business
New name. Renewed commitment.
The Office of Diversity & Inclusion at the Carl H. Lindner College of Business has rebranded and restructured to serve the college, University of Cincinnati and the community at large as the Lindner Office of Inclusive Excellence.
Inclusion is a driving force behind the University of Cincinnati’s strategic direction, Next Lives Here. By activating inclusion, the university amplifies its impact. The new Office of Inclusive Excellence at Lindner is complemented with staffing additions and the establishment of a new, permanent Inclusive Excellence Council to provide a strong, impact-driven focus to the college’s diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives and activate organizational change.
The Office of Diversity & Inclusion at the Carl H. Lindner College of Business has relaunched as the Lindner Office of Inclusive Excellence to best serve the college, University of Cincinnati and the community at large.
“In order for our college to effectively develop future business leaders and solve problems that matter, diversity, equity and inclusion must go far beyond how we recruit students,” said Marianne Lewis, PhD, dean of the Lindner College of Business. “The establishment of our new Office of Inclusive Excellence gives power and mobilizes action to achieve our collective aspirations.
“A guiding principle of the college is that fusing our collective aspirations, diversity and collaboration enables high performance,” continued Lewis. “Implementing this principle, we strive to strengthen support for the student experience, sharpen focus on attracting and retaining top faculty and staff and elevate Lindner opportunities for all.”
Lindner’s Office of Inclusive Excellence is led by Nicholas Castro, who joined the college in June 2019 after serving as assistant director of Inclusion and Involvement and coordinator of Hispanic/Latino Affairs at UC Blue Ash. Castro has onboarded two new team members to help him in this effort: Program Manager Victoria Regan, who formerly served as senior academic advisor for Lindner students, and Special Projects Intern Briana Harper, BBA ’19.
Lindner’s new Office of Inclusive Excellence Director Nicholas Castro (center) onboarded two new team members: Program Manager Victoria Regan (left) and Special Projects Intern Briana Harper (right), BBA ’19.
“World-class organizations have evolved from counting people to making people count,” said Castro. “Victoria and Briana bring relevant experience, as well as passion and ambition for this work to shape what’s next for our college.”
Regan and Harper will advise Business Fellows, Lindner Women in Business and Out in Business programming as well as organize events, forums and opportunities for the entire college to engage in conversations about diversity, equity and inclusion.
In order for our college to effectively develop future business leaders and solve problems that matter, diversity, equity and inclusion must go far beyond how we recruit students.
Marianne W. Lewis, PhD Dean, Carl H. Lindner College of Business
As for the new Inclusive Excellence Council, appointed Lindner faculty, staff and students will serve two-year terms, with the intention to recruit new representation and ideas across the college. In a way, it will act as a microcosm for the college, with not only different demographics within the college represented, but interests and experiences as well.
“As a part-time MBA student and staff member at UC, it’s incredibly fulfilling to have a seat at the table and a voice to express and synthesize my experiences,” said Inclusive Excellence Councilmember Aja Hickman, MBA ’21, senior human resources coordinator for University Libraries. “To me, Next Lives Here is diversity. It is inclusion. Our college won’t be what’s ‘next’ without it. That’s how strongly I believe in this work.”
The Inclusive Excellence Council will support the college's recruitment and retention of students, faculty and staff with diverse backgrounds and experiences while promoting an overall culture in the college where diversity, equity and inclusion are valued, promoted and championed.
In its early iteration as a diversity and inclusion task force, the Inclusive Excellence Council fielded a cultural climate survey that solicited input from Lindner students, faculty, staff and alumni and garnered more than 600 unique responses.
“The first step was finding out and acknowledging where we are as a college,” said Angie Cook, Inclusive Excellence Council member and assistant director of Lindner’s MBA program. “We were very intentional in figuring out our current situation — what do we do well, where do we need to grow — and extrapolate some immediate action items and long-term goals from that broad input.
“The new Office of Inclusive Excellence is something we want everyone to feel that they are a part of,” continued Cook. “We’re looking for people’s experiences, stories, ideas and feedback.”
This is just the beginning for Lindner’s Office of Inclusive Excellence. For more information, to contribute ideas or suggestions, or to start a new conversation with the new team or Inclusive Excellence Council, complete the form on the Inclusive Excellence Council webpage.
About the Lindner College of Business
At the Carl H. Lindner College of Business, we are committed to developing the next generation of business leaders. Through personalized career coaching and experiential learning, our students graduate with a competitive advantage in the workforce and are strongly positioned to address a multitude of today’s global business challenges. For more than 110 years, we’ve not only served as a catalyst for innovation and cutting-edge research, but our programs have also earned national acclaim in several academic areas. The best is yet to come this fall of 2019, as we celebrate the grand opening of our new state-of-the-art building that promises to firmly position Lindner as one of the best business schools in the nation. We are Greater Cincinnati’s extraordinary college of business
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