Dr. Oscar W. DeShields, Jr. Receives Honored Guest Award at The PhD Project Marketing Doctoral Student Association Conference

The PhD Project, an award-winning program to create a more diverse corporate America, is proud to announce that PhD Project participant Dr. Oscar W. DeShields, Jr., Professor of Marketing, College of Business Administration & Economics at California State University, Northridge, received the Honored Guest Award from The PhD Project's Marketing Doctoral Students Association (MDSA). The award is given to those who have gone above and beyond in their commitment and involvement to the MDSA and its members.

“Being recognized as the Honored Guest at the MDSA has been a significant and humbling experience for me,” said DeShields. “The MDSA has been a gateway program for over 16 years to mentor and foster growth for minorities to obtain Ph.Ds to enter the Marketing ranks in academia.  I am happy to have been a part of this program from its inception 20 years ago, and I look forward to continuing my contributions to the program, in any way that I can, in the future.”

The PhD Project recruits minority professionals from business into doctoral programs in all business disciplines. Since its inception, The PhD Project has been responsible for the increase in the number of minority business professors from 294 to 1,217. Further, 361 minorities are currently enrolled in doctoral programs, and will take a place at the front of the classroom over the next few years. The Project attacks the root cause of minority under-representation in corporate jobs: historically, very few minority college students study business as an entrée to a corporate career.  Diversifying the faculty attracts more minorities to study business and better prepares all students to function in a diverse workforce.

"We are thrilled that Dr. DeShields received the Honored Guest Award at this year’s MDSA conference. He has demonstrated dedication, hard work and intelligence and continues to influence the next generation of business leaders,” said Bernard J. Milano, President of The PhD Project and president of the KPMG Foundation, founder and lead funder of the program. “The PhD Project takes great pride in his achievement.

Dr. DeShields received his Ph.D. in Business Administration from Florida International University. While there, he served as the facilitator for Florida Memorial College's participation in the development of the housing proportion of the Metropolitan­ Miami Action Plan. This plan was intended to address the needs of the African American community in Dade County, Florida. The study resulted in a recommendation to implement a ten-year plan to address the problems by allocating $60,000,000 annually for the first five years and $125,000,000 annually for the remaining five years. Legislation directed at encouraging construction and rehabilitation has been enacted as the result of the Housing Task Force recommendations.

Some of America’s top companies, foundations, associations and academic organizations support The PhD Project including the entire California State University System, which is able to participate through funding provided by Edison International.  Other funders are: KPMG Foundation, Graduate Management Admission Council, Citi Foundation, AACSB International, over 250 participating universities, AICPA Foundation, DiversityInc, JPMorgan Chase Foundation, The Merck Company Foundation, Microsoft Corporation, Dixon Hughes Goodman LLP, Rockwell Collins, American Marketing Association, John Deere Foundation,  AT&T, CIGNA, ADP, The Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, Lincoln Financial Group, Aerotek/TEKsystems (operating companies of Allegis Group), 3M and American Accounting Association.

For more information visit: http://www.phdproject.org or contact Lisa King at 646-234-5080 or lisak@mediaimpact.biz. To view a short video of Dr. DeShields, please visit: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aDJadDzT5aU&feature=youtu.be.