Isenberg School of Management Hosting Inclusive Leadership Summit Oct. 18-19

AMHERST, Mass. – The University of Massachusetts Amherst’s Isenberg School of Management is hosting the Inclusive Leadership Summit (ILS) this Friday and Saturday, Oct. 18-19, in Isenberg’s Business Innovation Hub. The summit is the nexus of the school’s diversity and inclusion efforts and will bring together more than 250 students with industry partners, alumni, faculty, staff and community leaders to share best practices, industry trends and concerns related to diversity and inclusion in business.

The event will include a keynote address by Ken Bouyer, director of inclusiveness recruiting in the Americas for the professional services firm Ernst & Young, which is presenting the summit in partnership with Isenberg. Other corporate sponsors include PwC, Wayfair, Dell and Deloitte, all of which will have representatives on campus for the event to participate in panel discussions and network with students.

The ILS also features a student case competition and panels on topics ranging from how young Isenberg alumni are negotiating diversity and inclusion issues in their workplaces and the changing nature of leadership in inclusive work environments to LGBTQ policies and diversity in tech. Workshops focusing on culture change and the future of work will also help participants grasp the importance of diversity and inclusion work to both individuals and organizations.

“The workplace is becoming increasingly diverse,” says Nefertiti Walker, UMass Amherst’s interim associate vice chancellor for diversity, equity, and inclusion and Isenberg’s associate dean for an inclusive organization. “Students must develop the cultural, social, and emotional intelligence to lead the inclusive cultures that are necessary to support a diverse workforce. We hope the summit provides an opportunity for students to begin developing the skills they need to be inclusive leaders.”

About the Isenberg School of Management

The Isenberg School of Management at the University of Massachusetts Amherst has one of New England’s top-ranked public business school undergraduate programs, according to U.S. News & World Report. Founded in 1947, Isenberg is AACSB accredited and has 3,800 undergraduates majoring in seven business disciplines, ranging from accounting and marketing to sport and hospitality and tourism management. More than 1,500 students are enrolled in nationally and internationally recognized on-campus and online graduate programs. The school’s 44,000 alumni live and work in 86 countries, and many of them serve as mentors, guest lecturers, and network connectors for Isenberg.