Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

As scholars and teachers, we in the liberal arts and sciences are uniquely positioned to examine the causes and effects of racism, homophobia and other injustices, and to offer solutions. Yet we must not remain dispassionately at arm’s length from these issues. In the best Drexel tradition, we are called to engage with them directly, to amplify the voices of the marginalized, to call out the wrongs, and to do everything in our power to advance diversity, equity and inclusion in all of its forms.

The College has taken numerous concrete steps in response. The charge of the Faculty Council, a conduit between the College of Arts and Sciences (CoAS) faculty and its leadership, is to focus on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) issues. Each of our 13 academic departments and affiliated centers has established diversity councils and/or committees.

Taking Action: Research, Academics and Community

We invite you to explore the many stories that demonstrate the impact of the College of Arts and Sciences' efforts to promote diversity, equity and inclusion through faculty research, coursework, community engagement and more.

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Chris Bolden-Newsome and Lessons of Da Land participants gather in the picnic area and read passages from The Cooking Gene by Michael Twitty

Resilience & Joy: Lessons of Da Land

Led by environmental science major Alexis Wiley, a twelve-week cocurricular program introduced Drexel students and community members to food sovereignty and land justice issues in Black Philadelphia. The course worked with community partners and explored a wide variety of sources to deliver Lessons of Da Land.

Graphic that reads Ending Environmental Racism: Understanding Social Forces, Fighting Local Battles

Sociology Event Explores Intersection of Racial Justice and the Environment

For decades, studies have shown that Black, Indigenous, people of color (BIPOC) communities and low-income communities face greater environmental and climate threats, while contributing the least to these problems. However, the environmental justice movement has not always considered how these populations are disproportionately affected by environmental issues. To call attention to environmental racism, the Department of Sociology kicked off a new series of social justice-themed events with a one-day symposium. Titled “Ending Environmental Racism: Understanding Social Forces, Fighting Local Battles,” the event featured academic, activist and policymaker perspectives.

Keisha April MS ’18, PhD ’20 Works to Change Policies, Practices in Criminal Justice

Keisha April, PhD, a recent graduate of Drexel’s Clinical Psychology PhD program, won the Art Nezu Dissertation Diversity Award for her dissertation “Let’s ‘talk’ about the police: The role of race and the intergenerational transmission of police legitimacy attitudes in the legal socialization of youth.” This prestigious award recognizes an individual whose doctoral dissertation makes an outstanding contribution to the field of professional psychology and diversity and/or multiculturalism.

Featured Programs

Students, faculty and staff in the College of Arts and Sciences have long collaborated with campus colleagues, forged external partnerships across sectors, and built relationships with community neighbors to advance diversity, equity and inclusion. Through our teaching, scholarship and engagement, we continue to explore and implement new ways of reducing injustice. The programs below are a sample of these efforts.

Each year, the Drexel SIM program partners with the School District of Philadelphia to serve a racially and ethnically diverse group of 10,000 students who attend economically disadvantaged schools.

Access to Science Education

Each year, through its partnership with the School District of Philadelphia, the Drexel Science In Motion (SIM) program increases access to science education for a racially and ethnically diverse group of students. Drexel SIM provides teachers with technical support and offers students attending economically disadvantaged schools hands-on, ‘real science’ laboratory experiences.

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The Spanish for Health Professionals Certificate is available to Drexel University students

Hispanic Health Equity

Nearly 6 in 10 Hispanic adults in the U.S. have a difficult time communicating with a healthcare provider because of a language or cultural barrier. The Spanish for Health Professionals certificate program prepares Drexel University's health professions students to effectively communicate with and provide culturally competent care for patients who speak Spanish as their native language.

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Literary Arts for Social Justice

Launched in 2014 as a university-community literary arts program, Drexel Writers Room is engaged in creative placemaking and art for social justice. With the help of its members—a diverse intergenerational group of community residents and Drexel students, faculty, staff and alumni— Writers Room offers classes, visiting writers, cultural events and monthly workshops that are free, inclusive and open to all.

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Mother Baby Connections is a specialty service of the Drexel Psychological Services Center

Helping New Mothers to Cope

Within the Drexel Psychological Services Center, Mother Baby Connections is a specialty service designed to help new mothers who are pregnant, or have given birth within the last year, to better cope with feeling stressed, depressed, or anxious. It is the only intensive outpatient program of its kind in the Philadelphia area dedicated to supporting vulnerable mothers.

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Juvenile Justice Research and Reform Lab strives to advance better outcomes for youth and communities by working to dismantle the school-to-prison pipeline, to reform juvenile probation systems, to protect youths’ rights during police questioning, and to reduce racial and ethnic disparities within the justice system.

Reforming Juvenile Justice

Drexel's interdisciplinary Juvenile Justice Research and Reform Lab has collaborated with community stakeholders for more than 20 years to advance better outcomes for youth and communities by working to dismantle the school-to-prison pipeline, to reform juvenile probation systems, to protect youths’ rights during police questioning, and to reduce racial and ethnic disparities within the justice system.

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Story Medicine is Community-Based Learning Course in fiction writing and collaborative creative processes that engages pediatric patients receiving treatment at local hospitals.

Engaging Pediatric Patients

Lights, camera, Story Medicine! Drexel students enrolled in Story Medicine (WRIT 215-001) —a community-based learning class— produce live shows, create YouTube videos, and write fiction for read-aloud stories that engage pediatric patients receiving treatment at local hospitals. Students explore the enrichment needs of hospitalized children through creative collaboration with them.

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