Director, Student Life

Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science, 1731

E. 120th Street, Los Angeles, CA 90059, USA

Charles R. Drew University (CDU) is located in the Watts-Willowbrook area of South Los Angeles and was founded in 1966 in response to the Watts uprising. CDU was established to address inadequate medical care in the region and to provide equitable medical education opportunities for underrepresented students. CDU is strongly invested in the local and regional community, leading multiple partnerships and programs to provide equitable healthcare resources in South Los Angeles neighborhoods.

The Director of Student Life, Belonging and Development serves as a key leadership role within the Division of Student Affairs at Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science. Reporting directly to the Assistant Vice Provost for Student Affairs, the Director provides leadership and oversight for all non-academic aspects of student life and serves as a key member of the Vice Provost Management Team as an advocate for students.

The Director has primary responsibility for leadership, management, strategic direction, policy development, and administrative oversight of co- and extracurricular student services, including student multicultural affairs, student conduct, student development, student life, student career services and student government and organizations.

The Director leads institutional efforts to foster a strong sense of belonging, community engagement, and persistence among all students with specific emphasis on retention, persistence, and graduation initiatives. The Director will directly supervise the Student Life Belonging and Development team, and student support-related services. The Director will direct the growth of comprehensive student life planning and student support-related services commensurate with a growing student population.

• Develop comprehensive strategic plans targeting student persistence, retention, and graduation/completion rates
• Create, implement, and assess proactive strategies to identify and address barriers to student persistence and completion
• Develop plans and budgets, and manage all operations of functions to support non-academic student services
• Manage budget, personnel, and resources allocated to student life programming to maximize impact on retention and student success
• Implement a cohesive vision for student engagement and belonging that aligns with the institution’s and division’s mission and strategic objectives
• Develop and prepare regular assessment reports on retention and completion metrics to inform continuous improvement efforts
• Serve on the Student Affairs leadership team to ensure seamless integration of services across all units
• Work collaboratively with Institutional Research to analyze student retention and completion data to develop targeted interventions

• Develop, implement, and assess data-driven strategies to increase student retention, persistence, and graduation rates
• Design and execute comprehensive belonging initiatives that create strong student-institution connections linked to improved retention
• Establish clear retention goals, benchmarks, and key performance indicators for student persistence
• Collaborate with academic programs to develop integrated support systems for students at risk of attrition
• Develop early alert systems and intervention strategies for students showing signs of disengagement
• Create academic and social integration opportunities that research shows improve student persistence
• Lead initiatives addressing the unique retention challenges of first‑generation, underrepresented, and non‑traditional students
• Design specific programming to support students through key transition and milestone points that represent high attrition risk

• Develop and implement strategies to increase student retention and enhance student satisfaction through meaningful engagement
• In partnership with other Student Affairs units and academic programs, address the current shortfalls in retention strategies, factors influencing…