DRN kicks off its 10th year of operations
September 1, 2025 - Deborah J. Johnson, Ph.D., Micaela Flores, Mihael Keeler, Kayla Lewis
To kick off the celebration of its 10th year of operation, the Diversity Research Network, or DRN, shared its impact data in a campus-wide webinar in August. In this presentation, Deborah J. Johnson, MSU Foundation professor and DRN director, presented the 5th-year self-study and 10-year evaluation of key programs.
In the 5th year, self-study conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic, focused on questions around “What is working in programming and messaging and what is not?” Online focus groups were conducted, and participants indicated that the DRN’s top features were its writing retreats and spaces, the Launch Awards Program and Share Outs. These and other programs enhanced productivity, community building and networking, the generation of new ideas through collaboration, empowerment through safety and nurturing spaces, and the reduction of feelings of isolation, among others. At the DRN, our philosophy has been to respond to the whole scholar.
Challenges and areas of improvement were also discussed, resulting in a new program coordinator and assistant director position, as well as emphasis on gaps in outreach and programming for late-career faculty.
...Like, there are going to be people there who care about me and my success...
-Mafungo participant
I was at an impasse in terms of how to move forward. The consultants helped me think about several strategies that helped me solve some problems I was dealing with. Also, their repeated encouragement that my work was not only valuable but needed and necessary boosted my confidence. It has been a long time since anyone said that to me.
By evaluating participants' feedback on programs following a specific event or experience, we were able to assess the meaningful support and opportunities provided to faculty through our signature programs: the Researcher’s Workshop (N = 69), the Writer’s Mafungo and the Summer Stay Retreat, which together account for N = 185 participants. Many points of assessment were conducted with the aid of the DRN team, and our programs continue to have exceptionally high ratings across the past ten years. Summer Stay scores, for example, have always ranked between 4.29 and 5.0 (5-point scale). Recent years have demonstrated particular value to participants. The Writer’s Mafungo scores ranged between 3.56 and 4.56 (5-point scale) in its first two years, while the program was still in development; subsequently, scores have been at or near 5.0.
Qualitative feedback demonstrated the impact of DRN programming across programs for the duration of those opportunities and was also markedly positive for all three programs, with participants regularly indicating that they felt nurtured, motivated and transformed by their involvement. As one Writer’s Mafungo participant reported, “Every single activity provided the holistic writing experience needed to foster an environment that fostered creativity, community, scholarship, wellbeing, joy and propels our research and wellbeing as academics and people.”
Another participant, reflecting on their experience in the Researcher’s Workshop, emphasized the vital nature of DRN programming: “As always, the DRN was useful in creating community and learning at a time when it is crucial to have these spaces.”
They shared that the programs left them feeling transformed and validated in their work, while also providing space for clarity and rapid productivity.
Evaluating the DRN over the last 10 years has shown transformation, with faculty experiencing less isoloation, better opportunities for collaboration, enhanced resources, mentoring and an increased sense of value as scholars and human beings.
