Nationally-known leaders in diversity, inclusion headline President's Speaker Series

Moderated by Linda Lorelle, left, diversity and inclusion experts Johnny Walker, Natalie Saiz and Shaun Harper discuss challenges in higher education and the corporate workplace.

The President’s Speaker Series at University of Houston-Clear Lake, held Nov. 4 in the university’s Bayou Theater, spotlighted the differing perspectives of three leaders in the area of diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility in the workplace.

The panelists in the discussion, entitled, “Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility From the Classroom to the Workplace: Are Higher Education, Human Resources, and Corporate America in Synch?” consisted of President and CEO of the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) Johnny C. Taylor, Jr.; retired Human Resources director and Organizational Development Consultant for NASA-JSC Natalie Saiz; and University of Southern California’s Professor of Management, and Founder and Director for the Race and Equity Center Shaun Harper.

“Equity and inclusion are business practices and strategies that the most successful organizations follow, irrespective of sector,” said UH-Clear Lake President Richard Walker. “Accommodation simply makes those who are already productive even more so, with little to no cost to the organization. Maintaining an SDEIA organizational focus is good business as well as the right thing to do.”

The speakers addressed the question of whether higher education, human resources, and corporate America are in synch with the changes that result from increasing diversity in those areas.

The discussion was moderated by noted Houston TV journalist Linda Lorelle. The President’s Speaker Series is held once a semester. For more information about the next event, monitor online.