UCLA, Labor Dept. forge alliance to help advance managers with disabilities

[Guest guest]

UCLA, Labor Dept. forge alliance to help advance managers with

disabilities

http://newsroom.ucla.edu/portal/ucla/ucla-anderson-school-of-

management-75063.aspx

By na Park

The U.S. Labor Department's Office of Disability Employment Policy

(ODEP) and the Regents of the University of California, on behalf of

the UCLA School of Management's Executive Education

Programs, today announced an alliance agreement that will provide

program participants and sponsoring organizations with

information, guidance and access to resources to help advance

employment opportunities for managers with disabilities.

The agreement was signed by Judy Olian, dean of the UCLA

School of Management; Neil Romano, U.S. assistant secretary for

disability employment policy; and Bean, assistant dean of

executive education for UCLA , in a ceremony held on the

school's campus. In attendance were several founding organizations of

UCLA 's Leadership Institute for Managers with Disabilities,

including AT & T, IBM, Microsoft, PepsiCo and the U.S. Business

Leadership Network.

Bean stressed the importance of the agreement. " Last year, we

established the Leadership Institute for Managers with Disabilities

to facilitate a greater flow of executives with disabilities into

more senior-level leadership positions in corporate America, " she

said. " Now, through our alliance with ODEP, we can have an even

greater positive impact on how organizations recruit, hire, retain

and promote their employees with disabilities -- a talent pool that

has too often been undervalued and underutilized. "

" UCLA School of Management's cutting-edge Leadership

Institute for Managers with Disabilities will change how business

schools view managers with disabilities, " Romano said. " Through this

alliance, ODEP and UCLA will work to move people with

disabilities from the cubicle to the corporate suite. "

Through its alliances, ODEP partners with entities to develop best

practices, model policies, programs and strategies to forge new

channels for employee training, education, career advancement and

outreach.

ODEP's Alliance Initiative is open to businesses, trade and

professional associations; labor unions; academic institutions; and

government agencies, among others. A directive at www.dol.gov/odep

gives guidelines and criteria for alliance partnerships.

The Office of Disability Employment Policy is leading a 21st-century

federal response to the historic underemployment of people with

disabilities. In collaboration with other government agencies, public

and private employers, and additional stakeholders, ODEP facilitates

the development and implementation of innovative policies and

practices necessary to achieve a disability-inclusive diversity

workplace. ODEP's work falls primarily into three categories --

employers and the workplace, workforce systems, and employment-

related supports -- which include education and training, health

care, reliable transportation, affordable housing, and assistive

technology.

UCLA Executive Education Programs (EEP) has established

itself as the foremost provider of executive leadership education in

the diversity space based upon its belief that the long-term

sustainability and growth of an organization depends upon the extent

to which it can fully leverage the diverse perspectives of its

executives and stakeholders. EEP offers leadership institutes for

managers for people of color, women, LGBT individuals and those with

disabilities. Founding organizations of the Leadership Institute for

Managers with Disabilities are AIG, AOL, AT & T, DiversityInc, Fannie

Mae, Google, IBM, Merck, Microsoft, Motorola, PepsiCo, the Society

for Human Resource Management, Union Bank of California and the U.S.

Business Leadership Network. Sustaining organizations include Avis,

Budget and Mc's. The 2007 inaugural institute was funded in

part by ODEP; the second is scheduled for fall 2009.