News & Events
Chamber President Graduates From Diversity Leaders Academy
Rob Clapper, the President & CEO of the Laurens County Chamber of Commerce recently was one of fifty members of the class of 2007 to graduate from The Diversity Leadership Academy. The Academy was launched in Greenville in 2003 and is housed in the Richard E. Riley Institute at Furman University, the academy equips leaders with the tools and skills to manage in an ever more diverse environment.
"We are extremely proud of the Chamber and of Rob’s Leadership. He continues to look for ways to not only improve Laurens County but to ensure we are building for a better future. I only hope the residents of our county truly appreciate the leader that we have in Rob Clapper,” said Bud Marchant Chairman of the Board for the Chamber.
The program is held one full day per month for five months and includes a real-world capstone project. The curriculum explores familial, geographic, demographic and socioeconomic as well as race and gender diversity. Participants develop diversity management skills that result in a more successful organization and an improved society.
The capstone experiences have touched all areas of our community, including education, government, medical and civic activities. Clapper’s project group, set its sight on addressing and empowering high school students to eliminate social oppression. The group was made up of the mayors of Anderson and Greenville as well as corporate leaders from Milliken and Michelin North America.
"Our project is aimed at bringing a program to a local school and empowering students to be the change. The project called Challenge Day is designed to break down social barriers and bias and get students to see themselves as the answer and leadership for the future," said Clapper.
Juan Johnson, a retired executive vice president of the Coca-Cola Co. and president of the Diversity Leadership Academy, conducts the classroom learning experience. Mr. Johnson is a magnificent leader who has mastered the diversity management methodology and who easily connects with the students in the class. Even in the most delicate diversity situations, he takes the participants from the academic to the practical with an unparalleled grace and finesse.
The academy in South Carolina is supported by a consortium of companies including the Coca-Cola Co. of Atlanta, Michelin North America and Furman University. Wachovia Bank joined the consortium in 2005.
Clapper joined many other leaders from the Upstate region who hail from the corporate world, nonprofits, the governmental sectors, the faith community and civic volunteers. The goal is for the class to be equipped to make informed diversity decisions in the midst of differences, similarities and tension. Diversity Leadership Academy graduates are already having an impact in community activities throughout the Upstate.
"Our future is the young people in our high schools. It’s time we focused on how to embrace differences that exist in the world. As we become a global community, we need to ensure we are enabling our future to be strong, visionary, and open minded leaders."
