Technology Ventures Inventor Spotlight: Claretha Hughes

Whit Pruitt

Professor Claretha Hughes

Claretha Hughes, professor of human resource and workforce development, focuses her research on valuing people and technology in the workplace, technology development, diversity intelligence, learning, and ethical and legal issues.

Hughes is also making an incredible impact in her entrepreneurial ventures. In 2021, she founded and developed the trademarked @Diversity Intelligence LLC, which offers expert consulting along with the validated Hughes and Liang Diversity Intelligence assessment, the world's first validated DQ assessment.

"It was a six-year process from conceptualization of the Diversity Intelligence construct to the development of the tool," Hughes says.

This validated tool created by Hughes measures Diversity Intelligence of leaders in all fields and provides four individual scores of leader knowledge, workplace education and training, behavior and overall DQ. DQ is relevant to leadership functionality and success through people, and it is used as a baseline tool to help develop strategies with clients that are creative, practical and actionable that lead to diverse intelligent solutions. 

Hughes designed the assessment to help companies win through the creation of positive work climates, workplace structures and engaged work relationships. Reimagining the way that companies function on an internal level, Hughes' technology promotes diversity and leadership development.

With over 29 years of experience, including serving in manufacturing leadership roles for Coca-Cola Bottling Company Consolidated and Burlington Industries, Hughes serves as a book proposal reviewer for SAGE, Emerald, IGI Global, Palgrave Macmillan and CyberTech Publishing. She also serves as a grant proposal reviewer for the Swiss National Science Foundation and has served as a grant proposal reviewer for the Minority Business Development Agency in the United States Department of Commerce. She is currently involved in a National Science Foundation Research in Formation of Engineers project as a Co-PI.

Hughes continues to influence the field of human resource and workforce development. She has published more than 80 articles and chapters in peer-reviewed journals, books and conferences and has 14 books.

We are thrilled to have Hughes as a Technology Ventures featured inventor.

About Technology Ventures: The University of Arkansas Technology Ventures, part of the Division of Economic Development, manages, protects and commercializes the intellectual property and research tool portfolio of the University of Arkansas. Technology Ventures serves the university's faculty, staff and students as well as external inventors and entrepreneurs to disseminate technology, innovations, products, creative works and knowledge to the public market to generate revenue and future research support. In this way, Technology Ventures also serves the public as it is our responsibility to enable public utilization of products derived from university research.