Office of the Provost
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Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

Offices

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Leslie Ashburn-Nardo, PhD

Vice Provost for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
215.895.1655 la574@drexel.edu

The Office of the Vice Provost for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion promotes Drexel University’s shared value of inclusion by implementing and assessing the impact of evidence-based, equity-minded initiatives related to the academic mission of the University.

Vision

HEED award logo

Guided by the University’s Strategic Plan and commitment to anti-racism, we will cultivate a more diverse, equitable and inclusive culture of belonging at Drexel University that will be a model for other universities.

Drexel was awarded the 2023 HEED Award from Insight into Diversity magazine!

Priorities and Core Functions

Responsible for leading and guiding DEI activity across the Office of the Provost and academic operations, the Vice Provost for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion focuses on the faculty and student academic experience. These two priorities are interdependent and synergistic. Recruiting a more diverse faculty — and increasing equitable access to resources and opportunities to support their retention, development and success — will enhance students’ academic experience by providing more role models and allies in the classroom, research environments and other curricular and co-curricular settings. In turn, having students who feel a strong sense of belonging and engagement is rewarding for faculty, and student retention and success increases available resources for their continued professional growth.

Core functions of the office include:

  • Increasing faculty diversity through inclusive hiring practices
  • Fostering equity in faculty performance review and advancement, academic policies and procedures
  • Supporting faculty interest groups
  • Expanding faculty resources for inclusive teaching and mentoring
  • Organizing educational events to cultivate belonging and inclusion
  • Collaborating on funding proposals and research to improve student and faculty academic experience

Media Coverage of Office Initiatives

Discrimination, Harassment, and Sexual Misconduct Reporting

The Office of the Vice Provost for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion works in partnership with the Office for Institutional Equity and Inclusive Culture (EIC) to make Drexel a place where everyone feels a sense of belonging.  EIC leads Drexel’s DEIB strategic planning and implementation, offers educational programming, and houses student identity-based organizations, spiritual and religious life, and colleague resource groups.  In addition, EIC oversees University compliance with Drexel’s policies and with federal, state and local laws prohibiting discrimination and harassment based on race, color, religion, national origin, age, disability, sexual orientation, sex, gender identity and expression, veteran status, genetic information and any other characteristic for which discrimination and harassment are prohibited by law. If you experience or witness an incident of discrimination, harassment or sexual misconduct and wish to file a concern, please visit EIC’s Reporting site.

Top image: Panelists at the inaugural Drexel University President’s Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging Speaker Series event, March 6, 2023 (from left, Latasha Harling, Moogega Cooper, India Johnson, Leslie Ashburn-Nardo, Stephen Cox and Michael Moore). All photos in this office section are credited to Shira Yudkoff Photography.