By Victor C. Mullins A diversity consultant from Cape Town, South Africa, facilitated a faculty and staff seminar on Sept. 10, 2018, at the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business. The event, led by Melanie Burke, was the first in a series of conversations designed to create a work environment in which all faculty and staff feel welcome and are able to thrive.

To make it as a woman in the male-dominated finance industry, you have to be assertive. And key to that is having – or faking – confidence, says Marguerita M. Cheng, CEO of investment advisory firm Blue Ocean Wealth. "I learned to assert myself through the skills that I have," says Cheng, a 1993 graduate of the University of Maryland's Robert H. Smith School of Business. Cheng began her career on Wall Street as an analyst, but wanted to work more closely with clients. She became a Certified Financial Planner and transitioned into wealth management.

Hundreds of students, alumni, faculty, and staff gathered in Van Munching Hall on March 9, 2018, to discuss and celebrate trailblazing social value creation initiatives at the 10th Annual Social Enterprise Symposium (#SES18), hosted by the Center for Social Value Creation at the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business.

“I’m here because someone lifted me up,” said Donna Blackman, a 2010 graduate of the executive MBA program and senior vice president of business operations at BET Networks. “Once you get to where you are, reach back. Advocate and mentor other women. Make yourself available to talk to others.”

Kevin Li, class of 2019 marketing and information systems double major, writes about the Diversity Action Forum (Part II), held on Feb. 26, 2018, at the University of Maryland's Robert H. Smith School of Business. When people think about “diversity events,” there is a common feeling that they exist solely just to check boxes. But at the Smith School, diversity and inclusion are pillars of the community that members constantly work to better understand and use in their daily lives.

Sue Townsen, partner and chief diversity officer at KPMG, spoke about the importance of diversity, inclusion and a global mindset at the Global Diversity Fireside Chat on Feb. 21, 2018, at the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business.

Event Kicks Off Monthlong Celebration at UMD’s Smith School COLLEGE PARK, Md. (Feb. 5, 2018) — BET Networks executive Donna Blackman will discuss women in business and the #MeToo movement on March 1, 2018, as the honored guest at the seventh annual Women Leading Women. The free event will kick off a monthlong celebration of Women’s History Month at the University of Maryland’s Robert H.