Each year, Fisher welcomes a new group of full-time MBA students through pre-term, a two-week orientation event designed to inspire them as they start their MBA education, acclimate them to the program and provide opportunities to get to know each other to build trust and camaraderie.

The 92 members of the class of 2018 got an immersive peek into Fisher’s collaboratively competitive full-time MBA program as they participated in multiple activities each day. Students heard from Angela Guy, senior vice president for diversity and inclusion at L’Oréal USA, who delivered a keynote address on the power of diverse teams. Dr. Joseph A. Alutto, distinguished professor, emeritus at Fisher College of Business, also spoke to the students and provided his insights on leadership and values.

Guy, whose responsibilities include shaping the diversity efforts for L’Oréal USA as a business imperative, emphasized how L’Oréal has leveraged its diversity of employees.

L’Oréal is the world’s top beauty products company, with more than 82,000 employees across the globe. The company draws from attributes as wide ranging as employees’ country of origin, race, gender, age and disability, and uses that diversity as a competitive advantage to help grow sales and live up to its mission of “offering beauty for all.”

Referencing U.S. Census data and several recent reports, Guy addressed the changes that are unfolding as our population becomes more diverse, and she noted that today’s business leaders must face their reluctance to discuss diversity. Although personal biases exist, Guy highlighted that leaders must learn to recognize biases and not allow them to stand in the way of effective leadership.

Following Guy’s remarks, Dr. Alutto shared his observations on leadership that he’s gained throughout his career as an educator, dean, university provost and two-time interim president.

At pre-term, students are introduced to their core teams—five-member groups that work together on numerous team projects and assignments throughout their MBA core curriculum.

“The Fisher MBA pre-term is a key feature of the Full Time MBA experience that prepares students for the program’s pace and tone, while helping them gain an understanding of not only what’s ahead for the next two years, but also what they’ll likely experience later in their professional careers,” said Dr. Shashi Matta, faculty director of the Full Time MBA and the Working Professionals MBA programs.

“Students gain insight into Fisher’s unique, collaboratively competitive culture, and are introduced to all aspects of the MBA program, including academic and co-curricular activities, leadership development, experiential learning, global education, building a compelling network and working with Fisher’s top-ranked Office of Career Management."