TSU Joins Minor League Baseball to Host First Diversity Leadership Symposium

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (TSU News Service) – Minor League Baseball® announced Nov. 2 it will host a Diversity Leadership Symposium on Nov. 6-7, 2015, in Nashville, Tennessee. The event will be co-hosted by Tennessee State University and held on its campus.

TSU students are invited to attend the two-day event for a unique look into the business of professional baseball. Attendees will hear from industry leaders, gain insight on strategies to break into the industry and have the opportunity to network with Minor League Baseball and Major League Baseball executives. On Saturday, attendees will take a tour of the newly constructed First Tennessee Park, home of the Nashville Sounds.

“When I created the Minor League Baseball Diversity Initiative, the goal was to attract and retain a diverse workforce,” said Pat O’Conner, president and chief executive officer of Minor League Baseball. “In examining the internal and external needs of our organization, and our industry as a whole, it was clear that diversity was an important piece of the puzzle. I want to thank Tennessee State University for co-hosting this event and providing an outlet for us to reach students.”

“Tennessee State University is excited about our partnership with Minor League Baseball and the opportunities for our students through this collaboration,” said Tennessee State University president Glenda Glover. “TSU students will get a chance to meet the heavyweights of this industry as it relates to sports management and administration as well as sports medicine and physical therapy. It is ideal that we can bridge the gap between classroom curriculum and real life employment experience.”

The symposium aims to engage undergraduate- and graduate-level students through a series of panel discussions, workshops and networking opportunities. One of the event’s goals is to increase awareness of baseball as a career option while offering an eye-opening introduction to the career opportunities within the industry. Each year, Minor League Baseball will look to partner with a historically black college and university (HBCU) in the Baseball Winter Meetings host city for this symposium. The 2016 Baseball Winter Meetings will be held in National Harbor, Maryland, just outside of Washington, D.C.

This is good news for April Bell, a TSU senior Human Performance and Sports Science major. Her dream is to be a sports executive but is not aware of career opportunities for minorities in baseball.

“I am looking forward to this symposium,” Bell said. “My dream is to be an executive, like a manager or a senior-level personnel, but as a female and a minority I am not sure of the chances available to me. I hope to meet and talk with people who can give me some direction.”

The Minor League Baseball Diversity Initiative is a comprehensive, five-category initiative designed to diversify Minor League Baseball by addressing race and gender diversity within its ownership, executive management, staff level employment, fan bases and business-to-business opportunities.

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About Tennessee State University

With more than 9,000 students, Tennessee State University is Nashville’s only public university, and is a comprehensive, urban, co-educational, land-grant university offering 38 undergraduate, 22 graduate and seven doctoral programs. TSU has earned a top 20 ranking for Historically Black Colleges and Universities according to U.S. News and World Report, and rated as one of the top universities in the country by Washington Monthly for social mobility, research and community service. Founded in 1912, Tennessee State University celebrated 100 years in Nashville during 2012. Visit the University online at tnstate.edu.