Monday, February 09, 2009

Attention: Culture is finally being considered an asset!

It seems the new trend is to hire people of color for the most challenging jobs possible. Barack Obama became the top leader of our country and inherited the worst economy ever...and now Dr. Francisco Cigarroa, a Mexican-American pediatric surgeon, has "become the first Hispanic to preside over a major university system" (University of Texas)...a system that has major financial struggles and complaints about diversity.

This is a new day and I believe a person of color is the exact person for the job (if only we'd have thought of that earlier in our lifetime). In these two particular situations, both men are very educationally qualified...and their status as a person of color gives them an insight and unique perspective that many others don't have.

Maybe in this new climate, we'll do a better job of seeking out the highly qualified people of color who have been around, but are often overlooked. Maybe we will begin to appreciate that the academic qualification along with the understanding of diversity is a stronger candidate than one with only academic qualifications.

See more here:

Texan becomes first Hispanic to lead a major school system

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