Recruitment and Retention

Goal: Create recruitment and retention strategies to increase and maintain the diverse representation of students, faculty and staff, and continually assess climate and sense of belonging for all constituents.

Dashboard: View oversight, timelines, accountability and status for recruitment and retention.

Led by: Trina Larsen Andras, PhD, assistant dean of DEI and Sustainability, professor of marketing

Strategies

Student Recruitment:

  • Engage in dynamic and continuous outreach to local junior high and high schools, with an emphasis on Black/African American and Hispanic/Latinx prospective students in Philadelphia.
  • Develop strategies to increase the enrollment of underrepresented undergraduate students, with the goals of admitting, matriculating and retaining the largest percentage of Black/African American and Hispanic/Latinx students among our peer institutions and doubling the current 6 percent Black/African American and 5 percent Hispanic/Latinx student populations by FY 2024.
  • Partner with corporate partners and Institutional Advancement/Alumni Relations to provide scholarships and stipends for Black/African American high school students to attend Camp Business.

Faculty/Staff Recruitment:

  • Increase the diversity of the candidate pool by posting positions in publications and outlets that serve underrepresented populations, with the goal of having at least half of the candidates self-identify as BIPOC.
  • Ensure diversity within selection committees and provide formal interview training to selection committees to increase cultural competencies and mitigate unconscious bias.

Student Retention:

  • Operationalize and scale the BRIDGE program by providing funding and additional resources and staff.
  • Continuously assess the underrepresented minority student experience with a special emphasis on the Black/African American and Hispanic/Latinx student experience.

Faculty/Staff Retention:

  • Create an onboarding program to formally welcome new employees to LeBow, which includes internal communication to create a sense of belonging; a buddy or mentor outside of their department who will provide resources (org chart, LCOB mission/vision, ERG, programming), and a 30-60-90 day meeting with their direct supervisor (30), skip level (60) and dean (90).
  • Regularly survey staff and faculty to identify gaps in DEI resources and determine the unmet needs of the community.

Dashboard: Increase Recruitment and Retention of Underrepresented Students, Staff and Faculty

Dashboard Status Key
Emerging Progressing Completed
Recommendation Oversees Implementation Timeline Accountability Measure Status
Engage in dynamic and continuous outreach to local junior high and high schools with an emphasis on intensifying outreach to Black/African American and Hispanic/Latinx prospective students in Philadelphia. Associate Dean for Academic Programs Admin, UG Recruitment Team Summer 2022 Increase in Applications from these Populations Progressing
Focus on admitting, matriculating and retaining the largest percentage of Black/African American and Hispanic/Latinx students among our peer institutions with the goal of doubling the current 6 percent Black/African American and 5 percent Hispanic/Latinx student populations by FY 2024; identify top talent through the lens of DEI acumen/allyship.  Office of Enrollment Management and Student Success Winter/Spring 2025 Increase in Incoming Student Population Progressing
Partner with corporate partners and institutional advancement/alumni to provide scholarship and stipend for Black/African American high school students to attend Camp Business. Institutional Advancement, Dean Summer 2021 DEI Fund Established Completed
Increase diversity representation in faculty and staff positions by increasing diverse candidate pool — posting positions to underrepresented serving publications/outlets with the intent that at least half of the candidates considered (self) identify as BIPOC. Dean, Faculty Department Heads Fall 2021 Positions posted in diverse outlets Progressing
Ensure diversity within selection committees and provide formal interview training to all staff and faculty who serve on selection committees to increase culture competencies and mitigate unconscious bias. Dean, University HR Fall 2021 Document from Hiring Committee with Candidate Info. for Interviews, Completion of Training Mandated for all Hiring Committee Members Progressing
Operationalize and scale BRIDGE program; identify and enroll at-risk students; provide funding and additional resources/staff. Associate Dean for Academic Programs Administration, BRIDGE Team Spring 2022 BRIDGE Enrollment Growth  Progressing
Continuously assess and evaluate underrepresented minority student experience with a special emphasis on the Black/African American and Hispanic/Latinx student experience. DEI Action Group Core Spring 2022 Survey Completed Progressing
Create an onboarding program in which all new employees are formally welcomed to LeBow through an internal communication to create a sense of belonging; assigned a buddy/mentor outside of their department, who will meet with them to provide resources (org chart, LeBow mission/vision, ERG, programming); 30-60-90 day meeting with direct supervisor (30), skip level (60) and dean (90). Dean, University HR Spring 2022 Pilot Program Created Progressing
Continuously survey staff and faculty to understand gaps in DEI resources and determine unmet needs of community and prioritize DEI engagement in all facets of leadership, professional development and hiring/retention. DEI Action Group Core, Dean, Marketing & Comm Spring 2022 Survey Completed Progressing

View the full DEI Dashboard

Connect with Us

Thank you for your interest in our DEI initiative and resources at Drexel LeBow. For more information and questions, please contact us. We look forward to hearing from you.

Trina Larsen Andras, PhD

Assistant Dean of DEI and Sustainability

(215) 895-4995

Gerri C. LeBow Hall 822

LeBow DEI Plan LeBow DEI Dashboard Support DEI at LeBow