Faculty Profile: Dr. Tom Diamante

by Andrew Frisch

Dr. Tom Diamante joined Adelphi's School of Business in January, 2003. He is not only a management professor, but a licensed psychologist as well. At this point, you might be wondering, what type of psychologist would a businessman be?

Diamante was born in Brooklyn, NY and earned his Bachelor's from SUNY Stony Brook in 1980, and got his Master's in 1986 from the City University of New York (CUNY). While Diamante was an undergraduate at Stony Brook, he was "privileged" to work with a research associate of B.F. Skinner. He says that experience "opened his eyes to research, academics, and the value of social sciences." In 1987, Diamante got his Ph.D. in Industrial and Organizational Psychology from CUNY. Also, after getting his doctorate, Diamante completed a post-doctorate clinical training program in behavior change management.

Diamante has 15 years of management experience working at companies such as KPMG Consulting and the Altria Group, which includes Kraft, General Food, Miller Brewing, and Phillip Morris. Most recently, he was Vice President of Corporate Strategy and Development at Merrill Lynch. In addition to that, Diamante works on leadership and peacekeeping assessments and placements for the United Nations to assist with issues in places like Bosnia, Kosovo and East Timor.

He has been published approximately twenty times, and has taught part-time at Cornell University, New York State School for Industrial and Labor relations, City College, Baruch College, Stony Brook University, and the Harriman Center for Business Policy and Management. His full-time teaching experience includes teaching at Dowling College.

Diamante's research specialties are executive development, change management, qualitative structured due diligence processes for venture capitalists, private equity, and investment banking. Currently, Diamante is "conducting empirical research with Dr. Manuel London of Stony Brook University on a new leadership dimension that promises to bring incremental explanatory power to the prediction of business growth in the digital era."

Diamante came to Adelphi because he likes how the School of Business "differentiates itself by virtue of how it integrates research and practice. This 'mix' of scholarship and pragmatism attracted me." Diamante teaches undergraduate courses in Introduction to Business and Principles of Management. At McGraw Hill Companies in New York, he teaches graduate courses in Organizational Behavior, World Class Human Resource Management, and Management Development.

Diamante finds teaching to be "extremely gratifying" because he contributes to developing people. He learns from his students, and while in the classroom, Diamante "strives to add value" by sharing experiences, offering problems that he's personally experienced, and making the class feel as though they are "experiencing business." Diamante loves being able to watch students achieve, and says that it is "incredibly motivating" for him (and for his students) to "be able to do things by the end of a course that they could not do before the course." Diamante says that he likes working with students that want to learn. He says "bringing value to the entire class while addressing individual needs for learning acquisition is challenging."

Diamante lives on Long Island with his wife and two daughters. In his spare time, he likes to cycle and play racquetball (as long as the opponent is of the same ability). Also, Diamante is a jazz aficionado, and he says that he got through college playing the trumpet at "club dates." Unfortunately, he says that the "trumpet is now a lamp." Now for the part you've all been waiting for, and after much thought and deliberation, Diamante says that his favorite pasta dish is linguini and calamari.

Diamante says that he is impressed with the caliber of his students and colleagues, and that he "appreciates working with administration to advance the university." He says that he would "encourage students to capitalize on the experience of the faculty" by spending time with a faculty member and getting as much as possible from him or her. Also, he encourages students to take a variety of courses, become well-rounded, and have some fun too.