Dr. Scott Borden
Director, Outdoor Industry MBA
The Basics
Organization Name: Western Colorado University, Outdoor Industry MBA (OIMBA)
Location: Gunnison, CO; mostly-online degree program with three immersion experiences
Founded: Western Colorado University (1901); Outdoor Industry MBA (2018)
Full-Time Employees: 436
Products: Education
Social: Instagram // Facebook // Website
Claim to Fame: First, and only, Outdoor Industry MBA in the country; students complete a ~300 hour project with an outdoor industry organization which requires an inclusivity section for all project proposals (example: project focused on creating an LGBTQ+ Outdoor Equality Index in partnership with Get Out And Trek), $25k scholarships for underrepresented students; scholarships for underrepresented students to complete a 5 year undergraduate and Outdoor industry MBA; and, a Inclusion and Diversity Action plan co-created with students, faculty, and outside consultants in this area.
The Culture
The best thing about working IN THE OIMBA is:
Being part of the outdoor industry and nurturing the next generation to support our values of promoting health and wellness; protecting public lands; ensuring inclusive spaces; connecting people to nature; providing meaningful employment.
When we’re not working, we’re:
Playing outside, cooking, connecting with friends, and traveling (pre-COVID).
What we’re reading:
It’s an MBA – we’re reading a lot (as well as writing and watching)! Topics include DEI-focused work (e.g., Aspen Institute recording of How to be an Antiracist featuring Ibram X. Kendi, investigating exclusive versus inclusive marketing strategies), Leadership, Economics, Marketing, Product Design, Sustainability, Finance, and Accounting,
What we’re listening to:
All kinds of podcasts!
If they made a movie about our workplace, it would be called:
Adventure Nerds in Paradise
Inclusion in the outdoors matters because:
Every human needs safe access to the innumerable physiological, psychological, spiritual, social, mental and intellectual benefits of nature. Also, diversity makes us – individuals, organizations, and the outdoor industry - stronger.
Five years down the line, it’s our hope that:
Our program will accurately reflect who should be represented in the outdoor industry and hence diversify leadership in the outdoor industry to continue to make it more inclusive and equitable.