History
Merlin Gerald Pope, Jr. is remembered as one of the first pioneers in the diversity movement. Born in Middletown, Ohio, he attended Kent State University for three years before being drafted into the US Army in 1966. His two years of honorable military service included a combat tour in Vietnam. Merlin received numerous awards and commendations for his service.
Following his military service, Merlin focused on his education. He completed his undergraduate degree at Akron University, and a year of graduate study there. In 1970, he was accepted into the doctoral program at Yale University where he earned two Masters Degrees and his Ph.D. ABD in Comparative Sociology and Social Psychology. As part of his doctoral requirements, he spent six months at England's London School of Economics doing pre-dissertation research.
He began his profession career in 1973 working as a free-lance consultant for a Fortune 500 company to provide racial awareness training. In 1976, he started his first consulting business, Behavioral Science Applications, Inc. In 1977, while everyone else was focused on Affirmative Action and numbers, Merlin coined the term "diversity" to refer to the changing demographics of the US workforce. However, he was also very clear that the term "diversity" included everyone. Merlin believed that by making every organization more receptive to differences, the culture would become healthier for everyone, including white males.
In 1983, Merlin and his wife, Patricia, re-incorporated the business under the name, Pope & Associates. From 1976 through 1996, Merlin traveled across the United States and Canada providing diversity training for major corporations and other organizations. The word "diversity" took hold and eventually became a household word. In 1987, he traveled to South Africa for one of our pharmaceutical clients to provide diversity training for their managers there.
His important contributions are perhaps best summarized by two of his former classmates at Yale University, Dr. Evelyne Huber and Dr. John Stephens. In 2000, they dedicated their book, "Development and Crisis of the Welfare State" to Merlin. They wrote,
"We dedicate this book to the memory of Merlin G. Pope, Jr., former fellow graduate student, friend and colleague. After graduate school, Merlin devoted his great talents as a social scientist to a highly successful career in applied social science, helping organizations to turn ethnic and gender diversity from an obstacle into an asset, thus helping the outsiders in these organizations, women and minorities, to realize their potential and advance their careers. Merlin was also a very generous and warm-hearted person who shared his success with friends and the wider community. He was beloved by all whom he touched. He left the world at better place."
