WORK IN PROGRESS

Georgetown McDonough’s systematic DEI efforts are now in year two, on top of years of individual and grassroots group efforts. The school developed special committees to dive deep on four of the categories of focus, while continuing a schoolwide focus on all 7 Cs. Get an update and highlights below.

A deeper focus: McDonough established a committee to make specific recommendations on increasing diversity among students, faculty, and staff. The committee is led by Serafina Smith, director of diversity partnerships, MBA Admissions.

Composition

Starting at the pipeline: Georgetown Reach is a free five-year program that supports underrepresented minority (URM) students and their parents from eighth grade through the college application process with expertise and resources, with a focus on the Greater Washington area. The program’s first cohort of students is now in the 10th grade.

Data-backed success: The Smart Start program, now in its 12th year, consists of events, workshops, and tools for first- and second-year underrepresented minority students. “If you haven’t been around business or business education, you can be at a disadvantage,” said Patricia Grant, senior associate dean and one of the program’s architects. “This levels the playing field. We’ve seen 100% graduation rates, which is remarkable — and not true for students with the same demographics without this program.” The program is a partnership with PwC, which has become a leader in DEI under the stewardship of Chairman Tim Ryan.

Increasing diversity by program: In the past five academic years, minority undergraduate enrollment has increased by 5%. Minority enrollment in masters programs has increased by 8% during that same time period. Financial Times ranked the Executive MBA program 5th in the country (and 12th in the world) for the percentage of women students enrolled in the program in 2022.

Support for students: Multiple new efforts are supporting DEI in the MBA program, including the Patrick Sheridan Endowed MBA Scholarship Fund and the DEI MBA Scholarship Fund, both established in the 2021–2022 academic year.

Faculty composition: Since 2017–2018, minority representation among full-time faculty has increased from 33% to 42%. Women in the faculty have increased from 28% to 32% during that same timeframe.

Taking The Initiative

In 2021, the Steers Center for Global Real Estate formed a committee composed of students, board members, faculty, and staff to assess its current DEI efforts and develop a three-year action plan to increase representation in all of the center’s programs. The committee identified several strategic priorities, including improving the admissions pipeline; identifying new scholarship opportunities for underrepresented minorities and women students; easing financial burdens for pursuing advanced education in real estate; auditing and improving communications and outreach materials; and developing a measurement and reporting plan.

In its baseline DEI reporting year (2022), the Steers Center welcomed an incoming group of MBA students interested in pursuing real estate who are 20% URM and 25% female, on the way to meeting diversity targets set by its DEI action plan (33% URM by 2024; 50% female by 2024; and one female faculty member by 2023).

Committee attention: Like composition, communication received special committee focus, led by Teresa Mannix, associate dean and chief marketing and communications officer. The team has analyzed and increased both print and digital communications around DEI.

Communication

Special edition: Georgetown Business magazine dedicated its Spring 2022 cover feature story to DEI, including an interview with Ella F. Washington, professor of the practice at Georgetown McDonough, and profiles of several alumni across industries on their experiences bringing DEI to their organizations.

A framework for research: Ella F. Washington published The Necessary Journey: Making Real Progress on Equity and Inclusion. The book frames DEI with a fivestage maturity model and offers practical guidance for organizations within each phase of that model. “The first question I got was always, ‘Where are we on the journey?,’” Washington said in Georgetown Business magazine. “Then the second question was, ‘How do we compare to other people on the journey?’ Once I continued to get those questions for about four months back to back, I realized that there wasn’t enough information out there helping people understand what the DEI journey is, what it looks like. And having that information is key to helping people understand.”

New look, new focus: A redesigned Georgetown McDonough website features additional prominent information about DEI, paired with ongoing newsletter and social communication.