Page 4 - CEMS News Summer 2020
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                  CEMS NEWS
Social justice and corporate advocacy
Cordell Hardy (PhD ChE ’04) shares his perspectives on the murder of George Floyd and how 3M is taking action.
     Cordell Hardy
“After George Floyd became another unarmed African American male killed by a law enforcement officer,
the world has taken up the banner of reform, equity and justice for African Americans in the United States.
Like so many, my wife
and I have felt grief, anger and frustration with the continuing flow of African Americans dying without need at the hands of police.
In the corporate sector, an intensified push for racial equity is more than welcome. It is critical for our leaders to apply the benefits of enterprise-level strategic thinking, prioritization and execution to social justice as well as business initiatives. Inaction in the face of clear, pervasive injustice is a threat to the integrity of any organization.
At 3M, we are embracing a focused response framework across stakeholders to provide immediate relief at
the point of need, to support economic development organizations and to push reform through advocacy
for social justice programs. We are also looking
within to challenge ourselves to do even more in balancing representation of black employees and other ethnic minorities, both in terms of initial hiring and in progression to senior leadership. All of these are excellent ways for us to ‘walk the talk’ regarding our corporate values. It is so encouraging to see the outpouring of support from across the company. Let us press forward to actions that meaningfully impact the trajectory of equity and justice in the Twin Cities and beyond.”
Cordell Hardy
Vice President, 3M Corporate R&D Operations
The deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Philando Castile, Tamir Rice and far too many others exemplify the racism that still plagues our country.
Participating in recent volunteer events and peaceful protests, however, I was hopeful. Although Mr. Floyd’s murder was a gruesome tragedy followed by highly destructive riots, now more than any time in my life there is insistence, in all my social circles, that things must be different in America. Such conviction is sure to result
in benefit. We have already seen cities across America enacting changes to their policing, and I expect with continued discussion and activism we will see great strides in the fight for equality.
       Centennial & Jubilee Lecture Series
These lectures will be offered as live, virtual seminars. Please visit https://next100.cems.umn.edu for details.
September 22: Thomas H. Epps III (PhD ChE ’04), University of Delaware September 29: Cordell Hardy (PhD ChE ’04), 3M
October 6: Navneet Kapoor (PhD ChE ’96), A.P. Moller-Maersk
October 13: David F. Bahr (PhD MSE ’97), Purdue University
October 27: Nancy K. Lape (PhD ChE ’04), Harvey Mudd College November 3: William A. Tisdale (PhD ChE ’10), MIT
November 10: Matthew J. Panzer (PhD ChE ’07), Tufts University
4 www.cems.umn.edu
    








































































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