November 4, 2022 at 1:22 PM

Update on Administrative Structure at CSSW

Dear CSSW Community,

Effective immediately, Associate Dean Karma Lowe will have an expanded role at our School, becoming the Senior Associate Dean for DEI, Enrollment and Community Engagement. In this new capacity, Dean Lowe will continue to manage CSSW’s DEI efforts and will now also oversee Enrollment Management, including the Offices of Admissions and Financial Aid. This structural change is signaling our deep commitment to recruiting and retaining a diverse body of students, with a specific focus on students of color.

Dean Lowe has a deep understanding of our School and a proven commitment to the well-being of our students. As our inaugural Dean of DEI, she has developed and coordinated ongoing trainings for faculty, staff and students to address implicit bias, microaggressions, anti-Black racism, civil engagement and navigating difficult dialogues in the classroom, to name a few. She also serves on a range of university-wide committees, including one on Inclusive Public Safety. She has 19 years of experience in student affairs, and many years of experience conducting workshops and facilitating dialogues on diversity, self-awareness, and critical conversations. I am excited for the perspective she will bring to student recruitment and retention.

I have been very vocal about the need to recruit more faculty and students of color, and we have made great strides in our faculty recruitment (https://socialwork.columbia.edu/blog/new-full-time-faculty-members-at-columbia-school-of-social-work-focus-on-well-being-of-black-and-latinx-americans/) . With our Office of Admissions under the umbrella of DEI, we will ensure that enrollment policies will be developed even more consistently through a framework of diversity & equity.

I am deeply grateful for the ongoing efforts of Senior Associate Dean Gerard Bueno, Associate Dean Michael Lovaglio, and all of our outstanding colleagues on our admissions and financial aid teams. They have dedicated themselves to recruiting an exceptional and diverse class, and to supporting our students to the greatest degree possible. I believe the synergies in this new structure, reuniting units that are primarily student-facing, will be immense. Please join me in congratulating Senior Associate Dean Lowe on her new role, and for thanking her for taking on this additional responsibility for our School.

In community,

Melissa D. Begg

Dean & Professor

Columbia School of Social Work