Faculty, advisors, friends, and family gather — virtually — to celebrate the achievements of HDO’s seventh Master’s cohort

Lewis Miller, Assistant Director, HDO
December 15, 2020

The Human Dimensions of Organizations (HDO) Master’s Class of 2020 graduated last Friday, December 11, adding twenty new members to the distinguished Longhorn alumni community.

HDO’s faculty, staff, and advisors—not to mention the students’ families and friends—are incredibly proud of the hard work these graduates put in over the past 15 months!

In their HDO journey, the students explored a diverse range of disciplines, including psychology, literature, sociology, philosophy, anthropology, and rhetoric, and covered topics such as leadership, ethics, diversity, change management, and decision-making.

This year’s celebration, as with all things 2020, was unique. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, large gatherings were not permitted to be held on campus.

In light of this, HDO students, faculty, and staff went to work to create a virtual event that combined elements of previous in-person graduations, including research presentations, faculty greetings, and student recognition. You can view a recording of the virtual event below.

About HDO

The University of Texas at Austin is proud to offer Human Dimensions of Organizations, a first of its kind in the nation program. Drawing on an innovative combination of liberal arts, behavioral sciences, and social sciences, we created HDO to meet a need not addressed by existing education options: providing a deep understanding of people, the key components of any organization.

Technical expertise in a particular domain is a necessary element for workplace success. However, recognizing behaviors and motivations, communicating across organizations and cultures, and thinking strategically to solve complex problems – a few examples of core competencies developed in HDO – are the skills that create transformational leaders.