Race matters — in the workplace: UVA study taps into emerging research field - Faculty Club - University of Virginia - Brief Article

Black Issues in Higher Education, Jan 17, 2002 by Kendra Hamilton

"There are more stories to be told. There are ways that Black people have to end up acting in corporate settings that are quite different from the other parts of the world that they live in, and I think that's worth paying attention to," he says.

Currently, Davidson, who heads the Darden Initiative on Leadership and Diversity in Organizations, is doing one of the first major longitudinal studies of the progress of African American MBAs through corporate America. Davidson says he has concluded the first phase of the study.

"What we're finding are things that your grandmother could have told you. But what we're seeing is that with folks of color, the things that matter are having management who can give them feedback, who can coach them, support them -- do all the things that management are supposed to do," Davidson says.

Davidson says he will finish writing up the first phase of the research in a few weeks and will be disseminating the results to his colleagues at Darden and to his students during the spring 2002 semester.

"To be honest with you, that's one of the best things about research (in the business school setting)," Davidson says. "It's designed for a managerial audience; it's action-oriented research. So it filters into the classroom immediately."