DiversityInc - May 2011

Cleveland: Diversity Drives Economic Recovery

Build It and
Jobs Will Come

Cleveland: By the Numbers

DEMOGRAPHIC BREAKDOWN

DR. MARILYN SANDERS MOBLEY CASE WESTERN RESERVE UNIVERSITY

Cleveland’s capital-improvement projects and the area’s low cost of living (almost 4 percent less than the national aver- age, reports GCP) are spurring jobs and attracting businesses and “creative” thinkers from major metro areas such as New York. When coupled with the leadership commitment to diversity and the investment in emerging sectors, Cleveland is poised for potential growth.

A welcoming environment and opportunity to make a significant difference lured Dr. Marilyn Sanders Mobley back to Cleveland’s Case Western Reserve University (CWRU), where she earned her Ph.D. in English. Three years ago, she was among 136 applying for CWRU’s vice president for Inclusion, Diversity and Equal Opportunity, and was appointed by President Barbara R. Snyder, who sits on GCP’s board, to the elevated, cabinet-level position.

“I saw it as an opportunity to do diversity the
right way,” says Mobley, adding that the number of
Blacks, Latinos and other underrepresented under-
grads at CWRU rose 4 percentage points over the
past year. “Had the job reported to HR, I wouldn’t
have taken it.”
Since coming on board a year ago, she has built a robust diversity pro-
gram, thanks to GCP’s guidance and recognition, including the formation of a
diversity leadership council and supplier-diversity initiative council; launch-
ing a faculty diversity-awareness lecture series sponsored by local corpora-
tions such as KeyCorp (one of DiversityInc’s 25 Noteworthy Companies);
rolling out a pipeline initiative with John Hay High School that provides a
free ride to qualifying underrepresented students who strive to go to medical
school; and working one-on-one with multicultural student groups “to make
the university a more welcoming environment.” Soon to come: a train-the-
diversity-champion program, which includes an LGBT-inclusive SafeZone
component, and CWRU’s strategic diversity action plan.

“Inclusive excellence is the key to remaining competitive, not only in our field of higher education but also in creating the kind of workplace environment where individuals can thrive and develop their full potential in the Greater Cleveland business community as contributors and change agents,” she says.

Cleveland Mayor Frank G. Jackson, who took office five years ago, also returned to the city after serving in the U.S. Army. Now, under Jackson’s leadership and with input from thousands of Clevelanders, the “Connecting Cleveland 2020 Citywide Plan” has been created to serve as a regional blueprint. It calls to improve the quality of life in Cleveland’s 36 neighborhoods and lays out targeted strategies that include diversity. The plan “proposes that the city fully embrace its diversity, cultivate it, nurture it and market it as a key element of its revitalization strategy,” the report states.

Black

51% White 42%

Latino

7% Asian 1%

Ohio Cleveland

BLACK OWNED

21.2% 4.4%

ASIAN OWNED

2.4%

1.7%

LATINO OWNED

2%

.9%

WOMEN OWNED MINORITY-OWNED BUSINESSES (2002)

27.7% 28.1%

Source: U.S. Census Bureau CLEVELAND MAYOR FRANK G. JACKSON

“We are committed to improving the quality of life in the city of Cleveland by strengthening our neighborhoods, delivering superior services, embracing the diversity of our citizens and making Cleveland a desirable, safe city in which to live, work, raise a family, shop, study, play and grow old.”