How Smeal’s CSCR is Partnering with DISCOVER

In recent years, the field of supply chain has placed increased focus on diversity and inclusion initiatives. The industry is making steady strides toward becoming a more diverse and inclusive field by elevating female voices and supporting people of color.

That is why the Penn State Smeal Center for Supply Chain Research® (CSCR®) is extremely excited to announce a new partnership with DISCOVER (Diversity and Inclusion in Supply Chain), a cross-industry organization that serves as a catalyst for the advancement of people of color in supply chain. Two of Smeal’s renowned thought leaders and faculty members have been recently appointed to serve on the organization’s Advisory Board Council.

CSCR Executive Director Steve Tracey and Felisa Higgins, clinical professor of supply chain management and associate dean for undergraduate education at Smeal, have been selected to serve as co-academic members/representatives on the advisory council as well as subcommittee members on the academic engagement workstream. 

“I believe the purpose and goals of DISCOVER as an organization align very strongly with our mission and values at Smeal — DISCOVER exists to help close gaps in the advancement of people whose backgrounds and perspectives have been sadly missing from the field of supply chain,” Dr. Higgins said, passionately. “This partnership opens the opportunity to expand the ecosystem of those who strive for excellence in practice and those who devote time to finding answers to very tough questions.”

Since being founded in 2017, DISCOVER has grown year after year through connections and strategic partnerships. CSCR first received an invitation to participate in the non-profit through corporate partner Laverne Bastress of Johnson & Johnson. Tracey immediately saw how Smeal’s statement on diversity overlapped with DISCOVER’s mission.

“‘We must open the doors of opportunity — and we must also prepare our people to walk through those doors successfully,’” Tracey said, recalling the words of the late president Lyndon B. Johnson. “By actively supporting DISCOVER, we can make a difference in the lives of its members as well as a difference in the communities and organizations where we live and work.”

Both Tracey and Higgins assume the salient roles of providing an academic perspective to the overall DISCOVER leadership and working with the greater team on regularly scheduled academic opportunities for members, particularly at the annual DISCOVER summit. The initiatives from CSCR’s end are meant to help “move from meaningful words into powerful actions,” Dr. Higgins explained. 

Through the partnership with DISCOVER, the center is aiming to ultimately bring together cross-industry representatives who are eager to collaborate with the academy to engage, mentor, collaborate, and develop more inclusive frameworks to seek, attract, develop, and retain a more diverse generation of supply chain professionals. 

Rhaki Agarwal, President of DISCOVER and Director of Global Strategy PMO, Global Services Procurement at Johnson & Johnson, is looking forward to how the blend of resources will spark meaningful change for voices of color in the industry.

“Smeal graduates are making a difference in business throughout the world, [so] it is our pleasure to partner with the school that is preparing future leaders and help shape the supply chain industry landscape,” Agarwal shared. “Smeal is preparing the future leaders and DISCOVER is helping connect the Industry leaders to those talents and opening doors.”

For Agarwal, the goal of DISCOVER and the Smeal partnership is to build a platform for people of color to network, and learn from the industry leaders in how to be “bold, brave and inclusive,” as can be found on DISCOVER’s website.

Both CSCR and DISCOVER find these efforts can result in the improvement in student success outcomes where there have seen disparities in the past. 

“The dialogue between industry and academia helps prepare the next generation of leaders and create a productive cycle of collaboration between industry and academic experts in the field,” Dr. Higgins said, in conclusion. “I see the DISCOVER-Smeal partnership as a confluence of these two forces.”