Business Ethics with a Focus on DEI Initiatives
Dr. Aaron Bruce, Vice President and Chief Diversity Officer at ArtCenter College of Design and Course Instructor at San Diego State Sports MBA
For the first time ever, San Diego State Sports MBA program students enrolled in a Business Ethics course as part of the program’s curriculum, which has evolved to meet the needs of a changing sports business environment. This course was taught by Dr. Aaron Bruce, a global leader in diversity, inclusion, equity and social justice with over 25 years of practice in marketing diversity and inclusion programs and initiatives. Students learned about diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in the workplace, along with biases, organizational mistakes, and how to be an ally and leader. A former Chief Diversity Officer at SDSU, Dr. Bruce now serves as Vice President and Chief Diversity Officer at ArtCenter College of Design, who dedicates a significant part of his career to helping organizations learn how they can be more inclusive to marginalized communities.
The course focused on real-life examples of ethics in the business environment. Dr. Bruce shared his own experiences with DEI, as well as case studies of organizations that suffer from a lack of attention to DEI initiatives, stressing just how important it will be for the next generation of leaders to deeply consider the needs of others in marginalized communities. Dr. Bruce encouraged students to think about their own diversity story and their individual experience with DEI.
Dr. Bruce also arranged for a guest speaker to share how she is making a difference in her community. Tracey Savell Reavis, a pioneer in DEI as the CEO & Founder at The Savell Group, spoke with the group via Zoom on Thursday, June 9th. Reavis is co-chair of “Diversity in Sport Day,” which will take place for the first time this August 28th, with the inaugural holiday emphasizing the importance of DEI in the sports business space. Reavis told the class her personal story as a journalist and the struggles she faced as a woman in a male-dominated industry. “It was inspirational to hear about her journey and how she still continuously strives to make a difference,” said current student Sierra Garcia.
The course will wrap up when Dr. Bruce returns to SDSU on July, 14th to grade student presentations that will explore contemporary issues involving DEI in sports and students’ plans on how to approach these problems as future managers in the industry. Thank you, Dr. Bruce, for returning to SDSU to teach the Sports MBA Class of 2022!
