Ted P. Becker, MPA ’77
December 2014
Sharing a lifelong legacy
Ted Becker’s gift to the Office of Diversity and Inclusion supports efforts to recruit diverse students and faculty and enhance diversity and inclusion content in Johnson’s curriculum.
“I was reared in a deeply religious family that promoted treating everyone the same, no matter their ostensible differences,” says Becker. He subsequently learned that diversity and inclusion means appreciating the contributions and ideas of people of different demographics, abilities, and cultural and educational backgrounds. Over the years, he has had much opportunity to put that childhood value into practice; his experience has helped deepen his appreciation of it.
While working on his MPA at Cornell in the 1970s, for example, Becker discovered how powerful diversity can be in an organization. “It was the overall experience of learning how to work with people of different backgrounds and from different experiences to achieve a corporate objective that has served me through the years,” he says.
And his professional experience at multibillion-dollar, global asset manager Legg Mason helped Becker crystallize that longstanding belief, and articulate it in standard operating procedures. “When I chaired Legg Mason’s Diversity and Inclusion Council, I began to better understand the importance of diversity and inclusion to organizations,” he says. “One of the first things we did was write a business case for diversity and inclusion, to make clear diversity and inclusion initiatives benefitted everyone in the company, not just those who might outwardly be viewed as ‘diverse.’”
Becker explicitly supports diversity-focused HR practices on the job, requiring his hiring managers to select from a diverse hiring pool in order to bring in talent that can add new perspectives and ideas to the organization. He also configures work groups to include a variety of individuals, to take advantage of the synergies arising from different viewpoints.
If we limit ourselves to people who look, think, and act just like us, we’re willfully ignoring a huge pool of talented individuals, as well as the vast knowledge, skills, and experience they can bring to the table, Becker believes. “We want to pick the best employees, not limit ourselves to only a portion of the universe. And we want to retain our best performers, by understanding, and accommodating, their particular needs and wants.”
Simply put, Becker believes that diversity and inclusion is good business. “Business people need to understand their customers, who are increasingly diverse,” he says. Who better to envision and comprehend the needs of a global, widely varying customer base than a diverse workforce?
Becker’s multi-year commitment to Johnson supports the Office for Diversity and Inclusion’s initiatives, which include recruiting diverse students and faculty, as well as enhancing the diversity and inclusion content of the curriculum. “Johnson’s commitment to diversity and inclusion provides opportunities to train more diverse and minority managers,” he explains. “It also teaches all students, of whatever background, how to manage an increasingly diverse and inclusive workforce, and to respond to an increasingly diverse and inclusive customer base.”
Having grown up with a lifelong respect for all people, the true foundation for diversity and inclusion, Becker sees Johnson’s ODI initiatives as an effective way to inculcate those values into tomorrow’s leaders. “I’d like to see every student develop an appreciation for the importance of diversity and inclusion,” he says. “I’m very pleased the University and Johnson have made diversity and inclusion an important priority, and I’m glad I can help with that effort.”
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