B² is a program designed to address the historical lack of representation in Business Schools and the greater corporate world of Black, Latiné, Native, Pacific Islander & Southeast Asian professionals, as well as people of first-generation and/or low-income backgrounds. In the month prior to the start of Autumn quarter, the B² cohort – made up of 25-30 first-year students – earn college credits and participate in valuable personal and professional development sessions. Campus and corporate partners collaborate with UDS to ensure a well-rounded experience.

Building Networks is a peer mentorship program. The program aims to equip undergraduates at the UW and local community colleges with the skills, resources, and connections needed to be a successful professional after graduation. Students attend seven sessions on the UW Seattle campus which include business lectures, professional development, and intentional networking.

Young Women’s Leadership Summit is focused on introducing female-identifying high school seniors to the areas of Finance, Operations and Supply Chain Management, and Information Systems. Students in this program will learn about professionalism, leadership, and what to expect in a college business setting as they prepare to pursue an undergraduate education.

YEOC is a nine-month college pipeline program and will be celebrating its seventeenth year of supporting high school students of color during the 2023-2024 academic year. What began with 36 students from 17 local high schools has grown to cohorts averaging 160-170 students who come to campus once a month from schools across the state. In partnership with professional partner EY, YEOC strives to expose participants to a comprehensive curriculum including college preparation, professional development, leadership activities, and lectures rooted in business disciplines. Each Young Executive is paired with a UW undergraduate student mentor who helps them navigate the program, develop tools for academic and personal success, and prepare for college applications and scholarships.

The Consortium for Graduate Study in Management was founded in 1966 and is a 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to ensuring the equal representation of African Americans, Hispanic Americans and Native Americans in management careers in the business community of the United States of America. As a Consortium member, Foster has awarded Consortium scholarships.

Our mission, through the strength of our growing alliance and extended network, is to enhance diversity and inclusion in global business education and leadership by striving to reduce the significant underrepresentation of African Americans, Hispanic Americans and Native Americans in both our Member Schools’ enrollments and the ranks of global management across Non-profit, for-profit corporations, government agencies, entrepreneurship ventures in both profit and non-profit environments.

Access is on a mission to lower the barriers to graduate management education and make the boardrooms look more like classrooms. Access focuses on increasing access for talented underrepresented and under-resourced communities with a free, scalable, and comprehensive set of resources designed for underrepresented candidates applying to business school.

The Forté Foundation aims to increase the representation of women in business and transform leadership in every field that business touches.

Management Leadership for Tomorrow equips underrepresented students with the skills, coaching and connections they need to lead organizations and communities worldwide.

Reaching Out MBA‘s mission is to increase the influence of the LGBTQ+ community in business by educating, inspiring, and connecting MBA students and alumni.

FOSTERing MBA Access is a series of events dedicated to increasing awareness and access to MBA-level education in underrepresented communities. Over the course of 2 days, prospective students participate in MBA class simulations, hear from MBA Career Management through alumni panels, network with current students and alumni, and visit various companies.

Women’s Brunch is an event dedicated to fostering women leadership through mentorship, MBA mock classes, and networking opportunities.

We choose to lead in the area of diversity, equity, and inclusion. Dean Hodge and other leaders across the Foster School created and began instilling the message that “DEI is everyone’s job.” As a community, we strive to always consider equity and inclusion in the decisions we make. Often this means we need to be more mindful and strategic about our decisions that impact all of our community members.

To further operationalize our work in this area, the Director for Inclusion and Diversity was created to better manage and maintain the work in both the Undergraduate and Graduate Diversity Services programs.

Other ways we foster leaders include:

• Continue opportunities for faculty and staff to experience equity and inclusion in learning sessions.
• Continue to offer opportunities for faculty to write case materials that feature a greater diversity of protagonists and business contexts.
• Continue to recognize and uplift the work of the Undergraduate and Graduate Services teams.
• Seek to expand our recruiting efforts that are noticeable to diverse communities and engage diversity leaders in our recruitment efforts.

We at Foster know that students and faculty need to be seen and heard for the expertise and life experiences that they bring. Systems and history have not always recognized this need and it has never been more important than now. Our faculty consistently demonstrate their commitment to share their knowledge with our students. Our students, especially those students of marginalized backgrounds, benefit significantly when they see themselves in that knowledge. Having cases and discussions in classrooms that include multi-ethnic protagonists can promote not only a deeper learning experience, but visibility and belonging.

Foster encourages faculty, staff, and students to seek and share knowledge and best practices around having meaningful and respectful conversations about difficult topics. Additionally, there was keen interest in summer grant funding which was created by the Consulting and Business Development partnering with the Dean’s Office to promote research that advances the knowledge of growth in business development for businesses owned by people of color. The intention is to nurture and amplify research in this important area in top tier journals to bring new knowledge to the field.

Let us recognize our staff for their constant support of the vast network and operation as Foster. Their commitment touches every aspect of Foster. The Communities of Practice [CoP] publish a monthly DEI Digest to highlight and promote the inclusion and belonging activities happening at Foster and we will continue to offer DEI onboarding and  listening sessions.

Other ways we foster insights include:

• Continue to build out the DEI Dashboard on InsideFoster (intranet) and maintain the DEI Digest to keep faculty and staff engaged and informed.
• Continue opportunities for faculty and staff to experience equity and inclusion in learning sessions.
• Continue opportunities for faculty to write case materials that include multi-ethnic protagonists.
• More coordinated efforts to communicate with students.
• Build a stronger sense of community for Foster alumni from marginalized communities.

Listening is critical toward making progress to address issues. The Foster Listens program was established by Dean’s Impact Scholar Stacia Jones in 2021. A centerpiece of the program was the introduction of regular listening sessions.  The purpose of listening sessions is to allow participants to share their thoughts without being interrupted and without expecting an immediate response. The listeners take in all that has been shared, and within a short period of time meet to discuss strategies to address the issues raised. These sessions began in 2022 and will continue going forward for undergraduate and graduate students, faculty, and staff.

Increasing faculty diversity continues to be a high priority. To assist in this effort, the role of “Dean’s Impact Scholar” was created in 2021. The  Deans Impact Scholar is a leader from our business community with demonstrated expertise in diversity, equity, and inclusion. The Dean’s Impact Scholar is dedicated to spending time mentoring and teaching students and  actively participating in Foster’s inclusion and diversity efforts. To date, Foster has hosted 3 Dean’s Impact Scholars.

Other ways we foster progress include:

• Continue to promote and publicize Foster Listens and offer listening sessions to Foster community stakeholders.
• Build a stronger sense of community for Foster alumni from marginalized communities.
• Improve representation and increase the diversity of leaders and experts in the Foster community.
• Create connections between Foster’s philanthropy development officers (individual and corporate), the Diversity Services team members, and purpose-driven donors who align with Foster’s mission for diversity, equity, and inclusion.
• Attracting more diverse prospective students is a catalyst for engaging alumni, donors, and corporate partners.