• Overview
• • President's Statement on Diversity
• • Diversity Advisory Council
• • Developing Competitive Advantage
• - Characteristics of Success
• • Diversity & Affirmative Action
• • Benefits of Diversity at Carnegie Mellon (PDF)
• Resources
• Community Involvement
• Building Diversity Into University Processes
• Measuring Results

Characteristics of Success

What constitutes "diversity success" at Carnegie Mellon? Here are some key characteristics of our vision:

• Accountability
  Everyone feels responsible for making progress on diversity, and for making the personal adjustments that create productive working relationships within a multicultural environment.
  
  
• Collaboration
  In raising diversity issues for change, the emphasis is not on setting blame for past practices and patterns, but on developing partnering relationships which move the university to a new level of performance.
  
  
• Strategic imperative
  A strong business rationale drives the diversity activity, so that it will weather the periodic economic storms and management lapses of attention to the issues.
  
  
• Climate of mutual respect
  Employees at all levels treat their peers, subordinates and supervisors with the same respect, honesty and cooperation they would seek in return.
  
  
• Normalization
  Diversity is evident at all levels of the organization, and homogeneity is viewed as an exception rather than the norm.
  
  
• Development
  The organization is committed to the long-term recognition, development and advancement of all its employees. Efforts are continually made to adjust systems to work naturally for all employees.
  
  
• Understanding and valuing differences
  Educational and training efforts and the organizationšs culture and values encourage the recognition of differences, leading to understanding and valuing both similarities and differences. Carnegie Mellonšs Interactive Theatre initiative is an excellent forum for developing understanding and appreciation of differences.
  
  
• Contribution
  The work-related opinions of all employees are sought and none are discounted on the basis of the diversity dimensions/attributes of the contributor.
  
  
• Universality
  Diversity is accepted as a natural part of doing business, and is woven into the fabric of the operations of the organization.