Ohio State nav bar

Annual Diversity Case Study Competition

Building a more diverse, equitable and inclusive work environment for all!

Winners of the competition

In the Spring of 2021, The College of Arts and Sciences took the initiative to launch a new event designed to help students develop the necessary skills for addressing professional situations of systemic racism and exclusion, or scenarios where employees need to respond to actions or words of their employer. Each year, this event is hosted as a partnership between Career Success and The Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion.

The annual Diversity Case Study Competition focuses on a theoretical case study strongly based in documented real-life scenarios. Students are grouped together and given several days to decide how a cohort of employees might respond to an employer's actions. Students then present their responses to a panel of judges comprised of HR professionals who provided feedback and selected a winning team.

The continued success of this event has garnered the attention of more students and employers. In the Fall of 2022, we held our 3rd Annual Diversity Case Study Competition and with the case focused on disability discrimination.

To participate, students must first attend one of two info sessions where they'll learn what is involved in the competition and receive an application to participate.

To learn more about participating in this annual event, please visit our Programming & Events page and see if it has been scheduled.


Are you an employer who is interested in participating in a future competition?

The annual Diversity Case Study Competition is an opportunity to recruit talented, high caliber students to your organization. We currently offer the following opportunities to participate:

  • Serve on the Employer Judge Panel
  • Commit to being a Judge alternate.
  • Serve on the Employer Lunch Panel
  • Be a spectator and network with students and employers.
  • Provide prizes/gifts for the winning team and other participants.

Employer inquiries can be directed to Andrew Freeman at freeman.752@osu.edu.


The Buckeye Advantage (program icon)

This program contributes to the skill identification, skill development, skill articulation and/or general promotion of these Buckeye Advantage Readiness Competencies:

 Buckeye Advantage: Apply Logic  Buckeye Advantage: Bridge Cultural Differences  Buckeye Advantage: Communicate Effectively  Buckeye Advantage: Embrace Diversity  Buckeye Advantage: Make Contributions  Buckeye Advantage: Take The Lead Buckeye Advantage: Work Together


This annual event is open to all Arts and Sciences students and will benefit students in all Career Communities:

Career Community icon: Education, Non-Profit and Social Services  Career Community icon: Entrepreneurship  Career Community icon: Finance, Consulting, Management and Sales  Career Community icon: Government, International Affairs and Public Policy  Career Community icon: Healthcare and Wellness  Career Community icon: Science and Research  Career Community icon: Journalism, Sports, Entertainment and Production  Career Community icon: Marketing, Advertising and Public Relations  Career Community icon: Technology, Data and Analytics  Career Community icon: Visual, Written and Performing Arts 

Career Communities help you discover new career paths, inform you of community-specific networking events, and exciting ways to become career ready!  Join as many as you’d like.  Log into Handshake, select “Career Interests” from your account drop-down menu, and identify the Career Communities that interest you!