WILLIMANTIC — More than 250 talented students at Eastern Connecticut State University presented research and creative work at the university’s second annual CREATE conference this past April. CREATE stands for Celebrating Research Excellence and Artistic Talent at Eastern, and is the university’s premier, academic year-end showcase. At the culminating event, students of all majors presented professional posters, live music, dance performances, artwork, photography, documentaries and panel discussions.
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Allison Greenberg ’17 of Orange, who majors in Business Administration, presented a research poster at the event. Greenberg’s project, co-presented by classmate Kehlsi Haynes, was titled “Developing Diversity Management Practices that Recognize the Importance of National Culture: The Case of Pfizer.”
“One of the challenges faced by multinational corporations is the development and implementation of standardized human resource practices that are culturally sensitive and responsive to local needs,” said the students in a joint statement. “The purpose of this research is to examine how successful multinational corporations standardize and enforce cultural and diversity practices across geographic locations. Pfizer, a global pharmaceutical company headquartered in New York has subsidiaries in 45 countries. Achieving a global perspective is one of the goals of Pfizer’s diversity program. The research will apply Hofestede’s model to develop a conceptual foundation of the cultural differences in the Pfizer subsidiaries. This in?depth case study on Pfizer will help us understand how multinational corporations can create a diverse workforce, enforce cross?cultural diversity management and develop sensitivity to local differences while maintaining a strong internal culture.”
Remarking on the variety of presentations, Professor Dickson Cunningham, conference co-chair, said, “CREATE encapsulates the essence of the liberal arts in one afternoon. It is an intellectual smorgasbord.”
Speaking to the value of CREATE, Eastern President Elsa Nunez said, “It takes a very strong and dedicated student to produce this quality of work, and it’s important for other students to see this output.” Praising the faculty, she added, “It takes a committed and skillful mentor to guide students to the work that is on display. Mentorship is such an integral part of undergraduate research.”
During the one-day conference, the Student Center crawled with artistic and scholarly activity. Students in professional attire addressed their peers, faculty and family. In the cafe, ensembles performed; in the theatre, student-produced documentaries were shown; in the Betty R. Tipton Room, aisles of posters depicting scientific research were displayed; across the hall, a gallery-worth of paintings lined the walls; and on the ground floor, panel discussions and oral presentations about the humanities took place.