Director's Message Archives
October 2005
Message from the acting director:
Taking diversity to the next level
This month I would like to introduce a new member of the Johnson School's Corporate Relations team and to report on our expanding initiatives in diversity and inclusion. Deniqua Crichlow has been appointed the director of the Office of Diversity and Inclusion (ODI) at the Johnson School. ODI is the outgrowth of the Office for Women and Minorities in Business (OWMB), which was established in 1999 with a mission of working in partnership with corporate friends, alumni, students, faculty, and staff to increase the availability of women and minority executive talent available to business. Angela Noble-Grange, MBA '84, was the former director of OWMB; and she currently is a member of the Johnson School faculty, teaching business communications.
Under the Deniqua's direction, ODI will have two purposes. First, it will continue to be the driving force behind the school's initiatives to enrich the pipeline of women and underrepresented minority leaders into corporate America. Second, ODI will work to foster a greater understanding among all Johnson School students, faculty, and staff about operating in an inclusive way in the increasingly diverse business organizations of the future.
A graduate of Cornell's College of Arts and Sciences, Deniqua's previous position was director of Minority Alumni Programs for Cornell, and she brings with her numerous contacts with Cornell alumni and the Cornell Alumni Affairs and Development function. In 2005, Crichlow was responsible for launching a first-time Cornell-wide conference, Cornell Mosaic, which drew over 600 Cornell alumni, faculty, students, and staff to examine current issues with respect to diversity and inclusion. We look forward to her leadership working closely with students, faculty, and staff to take our initiatives in diversity and inclusion to the next level.
On the Alumni Relations front, I am working to form a small steering committee of Johnson School alumnae to develop a network resource for women who have taken a hiatus from the corporate world to spend time with their families and want stay connected to current business practices or are ready to rejoin the workforce. We also will be evaluating various companies and their "family friendly" policies for students who are about to enter the workforce. Ideally, this network also will include women currently working and female students. Although we are just beginning to organize this task force, I invite any women who are interested in this important issue and have some ideas to share to contact me about joining the steering committee.
Kind regards,
Cyndy Tkachuck '93, acting director
Alumni Relations
cmg6@cornell.edu
