New grant to support Dillard University retention, graduation initiatives
6th March 2017 · 0 Comments
By Kevin Foster
Contributing Writer
Dillard University was awarded $666,600 to advance and develop student support initiatives, thanks to a grant by The Lumina Foundation, a private educational foundation in Indianapolis, Ind. that invests in post-high school learning opportunities in diverse communities.
The grant, which will be distributed over the next three years, will be used to develop new undergraduate research resources as well as assist with the universities retention rate for three sub-populations including: first generation college students who have difficulty navigating the college environment, students with an unmet need greater than $4,000 who tend to leave the university, and students who earn less than a 2.0 grade point average in the first semester of their freshman year and fall victim to academic distress.
“We’ve identified these populations don’t graduate at the same level as our general population” said Nia Haydel, the director of Dillard’s Academic Center for Excellence, who will spearhead the initiatives.
Under Haydel’s leadership the grant will be used to purchase predictive analytics software, which will help university offices monitor the likeliness of students graduating based on academic achievement and extracurricular commitments. In addition, the grant will strengthen programs at Dillard that already assist first-year students with their transition into college and will help second-year students escape what Haydel describes as “the second year slump,” where students tend to drop enrollment in their second year at college due to a lack of direction.
“The grant will enable the university to enhance student data and use that information to improve persistence and completion rates as well as eliminate attainment gaps for first generation students, those with significant unmet financial need, and who earn below a 2.0 GPA in the first semester,” said Marc Barnes, Dillard’s vice president for Institutional Advancement.
“All of us at Dillard are excited about the work we will do over the next three years and we are grateful to the Lumina Foundation for providing this tremendous opportunity,” Barnes said.
The Lumina Foundation who supplied the grant, targeted Dillard University as a recipient due to a comprehensive plan for student advancement, developed by multiple offices on Dillard’s campus, a spokesperson for the foundation said.
“Dillard University developed a well thought-out, comprehensive plan for significantly improving student outcomes including retention and graduation rates,” said Lucia Anderson Weathers, a spokesperson for the Lumina Foundation. “The grant will support Dillard University’s ongoing efforts, as well as new work, to improve outcomes for all students, as well as for students who need additional academic support, those with significant unmet financial need, and first-generation students,” Weather said.
Over the three years, the Lumina Foundation expects to build its relationship with officials at Dillard to ensure the grant is used to maximize opportunities for advancement at the university. “Lumina Foundation will work closely with Dillard University to ensure that project goals are met under the requirements of the grant agreement,” Weathers added.
Dillard’s selection to receive the grant came as no surprise to university president Walter M. Kimbrough who had successfully worked with the foundation to manage grants at past institutions where he served as president. “Receiving this grant helps to validate what we have been doing at Dillard, and to let our supporters know how valued we are nationally,” Kimbrough said of the new grant.
The foundation selected two other historically black universities in addition to Dillard: Howard University and Morgan State University. As part of Lumina’s HBCU Student Success Program, the foundation developed this initiative to aid HBCUs develop in today’s social and political climate.
“Lumina Foundation is proud to support the historic mission of HBCUs,” Weathers said of this focus. “As the number of higher education institutions undertaking transformational reforms grows, we believe that it is vitally important that all institutional sectors are represented, and that exemplars and leaders are elevated from the HBCU community in particular.
With support from the program, Dillard is predicted to raise its retention rate by five percent over the next three years.
“Lumina Foundation is providing convening support and technical assistance to the three universities, and will be conducting an ongoing evaluation of the work, with the aim of learning from the experience of the HBCUs and ensuring that other institutions can learn from their work, as well,” Weathers said.
This article originally published in the March 6, 2017 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper.
