Consumers around the world know the Nike Inc. slogan of “Just Do It.” Dr. Robert Shorty has a slight variation of the phrase as his personal mantra: Just do the right thing. This foundational commitment has empowered him throughout life and guides his daily work as a leader in the $30.4 billion company known for its athletic attire.
Shorty ’08 is director of Nike’s global diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) team supporting its Global Supply Chain and Sustainability. The unit represents more than 20,000 team members in 20-plus countries.
Appears InThe first person to hold the position, he has spearheaded development of the vision and strategy needed for the Global Supply Chain and Sustainability to create positive change. His priority is for DEI to be proactively embraced as a standard performance metric versus an emergency response.
“We have to change making DEI an event. A lot of conversations in the space of DEI have been sparked by trauma or crisis, and we must get out of that place. My role at Nike is to make sure that we keep that urgency and that flame over DEI strategy,” Shorty said, explaining that the goal is to create within the company a framework “where diversity, equity, and inclusion is built into the fabric of everything we do.”
The complex task is made more complicated by the fact Shorty is working within an international paradigm. His work ranges from creating a pipeline for women to lead future manufacturing and distribution initiatives to the immediate need of helping corporate leaders and their employees around the world understand microaggressions that vary based on culture.
“So much of the work is about learning, but unlearning is equally important,” said Shorty, a Chicagoan who joined Nike in 2019 and has been in the DEI position since March of 2021. “My job is not to convince someone of something, but rather to inspire and help individuals reset how they know the world.”
He gives as an example the need to analyze the inherent “what about me” mentality that surfaces when programs are introduced to elevate a cohort. “So many feel that giving to others is giving up something for themselves. My goal is to help reset the thinking to be about how we create a fair and equitable organization,” Shorty said.
“Our company should mirror our society, but we must also recognize that not everybody has gotten the same opportunities to thrive and grow.” He is motivated and determined to help Nike create a work strategy and space where employees have the same starting line and find equity in opportunities.
Shorty is convinced the business world can and should lead such transitional work, which he hopes will then be embraced through politics and policies to bring more universal change. The evolution will not be immediate or easy, for Shorty knows all too well that “DEI work is not how we get a marginalized group to behave, but rather how we get those with power and privilege to behave.”
The concept is one that Shorty has explored as a student and human resources employee for national corporations since finishing his degree in sociology at Illinois State. He completed a master’s degree in human resources management at Keller Graduate School before earning a doctorate in organizational development at Benedictine University. His research culminated in a dissertation titled “Managing Whiteness for Inclusion: A Proposed Theoretical Framework Using Contact Theory and Critical Race Theory in Reducing Racial Bias.”
He has put his learning into practice beginning at Target when he was hired in 2008 as an executive team leader. Shorty was chosen to manage an urban Chicago store that had an employee base of Latinx and Black individuals who were led by a white team. He coached management and implemented strategies that resulted in the store becoming one of the best improved among all 1,500 nationwide.
“I have been fighting for equity my whole life, learning at an early age that resources are uneven based on your zip code.”
Dr. Robert Shorty
Two years later, Shorty transitioned to a human resources consultant role at McDonald’s Corporation. He rose to the position of human resources manager and helped create business strategies as well as people solutions to increase customer counts and profits. He partnered with management of 115 restaurants that delivered a revenue of more than $240 million annually.
Shorty’s next job was serving as a regional human resources manager with Starbucks, which he joined in 2016. Not long after, he was offered a position at Nike. He initially declined but ultimately couldn’t resist the unique opportunity that awaited.
“I met with the management team and heard more about the project they wanted me to lead. It involves designing a whole new organizational development program where people and teams are empowered,” Shorty said. “I would be able to put into action what I had learned as a scholar and build from the ground up.”
Shorty is quick to share that his corporate rise was neither planned nor anticipated. “I did not think I would be where I am today,” he said, reflecting on rough times while growing up on the west side of Chicago. He lived in a community with a large amount of gang activity and crime.
“I had a colorful background,” said Shorty, who lived in a group home for troubled youth while a teen. He skipped classes and ignored his grades, making it impossible to enroll at Illinois State. Denied admission more than once, he opted to attend a community college and take an ISU summer class. He credits former academic advisor Teri Farr ’93, M.S. ’95, with getting him admitted to the University and on track within the Department of Sociology and Anthropology.
Shorty flourished as a Redbird. He joined the Interdenominational Youth Choir (IYC) as a tenor and served as president while an upperclassman. He credits the experience with instilling the importance of hard work, honing his leadership skills, and making him realize the impact he could have within a community.
He worked at The Baby Fold, a local nonprofit agency in Normal that provides services to struggling families and children, which further fueled his desire to be a change agent. Following his ISU graduation, Shorty participated in a missions trip to Kenya with the Filadelfia Women Crisis Centre. He spent six months working with victims of domestic violence and orphans.
The totality of his experiences cemented his passion for DEI work, which was recognized with his selection for a 2022 HR Impact Award and 40 Under 40 honoree by the Memphis Business Journal.
“I have been fighting for equity my whole life, learning at an early age that resources are uneven based on your zip code. It truly is my life’s work,” said Shorty, who maintains strong ties to Illinois State.
He has partnered with Dr. Peter Kaufman, a marketing professor who co-founded the Innovation Consulting Community in the College of Business. The program is an interdisciplinary professional development opportunity that connects students in any major to an organization with a specific need.
Shorty has also been supportive of the Multicultural Center that opened last year. He is helping to formulate plans for an IYC fundraising effort to further its work. He enjoys interacting with students and participated in this year’s Com Week activities in the School of Communication. He gladly shares his expertise and his passion for DEI that is unshaken despite constant reminders in daily headlines that racism continues and equity has not been realized.
“It is tough to stay positive, but I have come to understand that two things can be true at the same time. We can be making progress and losing ground,” Shorty said. “The work does become exhausting, but I celebrate progress where it is happening.”
Shorty continues to push forward as a humanitarian who envisions a better tomorrow, knowing deep within his soul that his work is indeed the right thing to do.
ISU and alumni committed to core value
Illinois State’s pledge to advance equity, diversity, and inclusion is grounded in the University’s core values and put into action through various initiatives. These range from registered student organizations, programming, the opening of the Multicultural Center, and a recently created wordmark that represents ISU’s commitment across campus. The Alumni Association Board of Directors has also taken action.
In January 2021, board members held listening sessions for fellow alumni to better understand diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) as it relates to the University and their role. The sessions reiterated the passion many Redbirds have for Illinois State, their willingness to give back to the University, and a consensus for improved outreach and promotion of activities.
Participants expressed a desire to be better informed about current DEI initiatives, a willingness to engage, and suggestions on how to carry out this important work. Board members saw a common goal to increase DEI work and consequently created in January 2022 the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee.
“To align with the University’s core values, our board wanted to spearhead this initiative,” said Nikita Richards ’06, M.S. ’15, who co-chairs the board’s DEI committee. “We recognized the necessity of this work and started the groundwork. This is a partnership that requires active listening, unlearning, and then applying what we’ve recently learned. Our committee members are invested in and dedicated to the Redbird community.”
The committee’s focus is to increase DEI initiatives as it relates to the Alumni Association. This includes working with members of the campus community and alumni organizations to create greater understanding of DEI; continuing to gather input regarding past and current experiences from alumni, including DEI messaging and support in the student to alumni transition; and partnering in efforts with the Office of Alumni Engagement to ensure DEI is interwoven into association strategies and board of director practices.
