UA Business School Reaches Out with New Diversity Initiative

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — A new initiative at The University of Alabama’s Culverhouse College of Commerce aims to recruit and reach out to rising high school seniors with diverse backgrounds who are enrolled in magnet and accelerated programs.

CMAP (Culverhouse Majors Awareness Program), headed by lecturer Lisa McKinney, is a residential summer institute for exceptional students who are typically underrepresented in the ever-growing Culverhouse College of Commerce. This can include students from diverse ethnic backgrounds and cultures and students with disabilities.

“We had been recruiting and conducting outreach for 10 years, but this year we decided to focus our efforts on students with a wide variety of backgrounds,” said Dr. J. Michael Hardin, dean of the Culverhouse College of Commerce. “We feel like this is what is most important — bringing in talented students with different backgrounds to increase the diversity of the University and Culverhouse. In future efforts, we will also focus on recruiting military veterans.

The inaugural camp will be held Sunday, June 15 – Friday, June 20 and will include 30 rising high school seniors from Alabama and Georgia. Some 25 faculty and business professionals will present at the weeklong camp.

“We traveled to schools across Alabama and Georgia seeking the best and brightest diverse students to encourage them to attend this camp so they could learn more about the benefits of obtaining a business degree and specifically a degree from UA’s Culverhouse,” said McKinney. “The camp is an exploratory opportunity to find out what we have to offer so the students can make an informed decision about their future.”

CMAP exposes the rising high school seniors not only to Culverhouse, but also to leaders of successful businesses, faculty and the UA campus. The goal of the camp is to provide the students with a better understanding of business and how Culverhouse can help them on their path to success.

Participants will interact individually with professors and working professionals through a variety of presentations and experiences. Each of the business disciplines — accounting, finance, economics, management, marketing, and management science and information systems — will be explored through interactive formats. Students will also explore specializations such as sales and entrepreneurship.

Nights of fun and entertainment are also planned for the students including a pool party, scavenger hunt and campus tour.

The students had to apply for the CMAP camp, and must be of senior status in the fall of 2014 and have a 3.2 GPA.

Another diversity program that complements CMAP at Culverhouse, the Accounting Career Awareness Program (ACAP), is in its fifth year. That camp will take place Sunday, June 22 – Friday, June 27. ACAP is a program of the National Association of Black Accountants, Center for Advancement of Minority Accountants. The primary objective of the ACAP is to increase the number of high school students from underrepresented ethnic groups that attend college and major in accounting. Through ACAP’s efforts, students receive educational enrichment experiences and the practical help needed for college preparation and a career in accounting.