BI graduates at the 2023 End-of-Year Celebration
Mission
The Brotherhood Initiative at the University of Washington empowers undergraduates, including men of color, to thrive on campus and graduate prepared for a lifetime of leadership, service, and success.
Goals
Drawing from our core values of community, care, collaboration, and equity-mindedness, the BI focuses on three primary goals:
- Promoting student growth, academic success, leadership development, and civic agency
- Improving the UW’s collective capacity to engage and support undergraduates, with a focus on men of color
- Informing research, practice, and policy nationwide concerning equitable outcomes for men of color
Theory of Action
The Brotherhood Initiative theory of action centers on four developmental areas for students:
- Academic guidance and support
- Psychosocial and identity development
- Career development and professionalization
- Community engagement and leadership development
The layered circles around the students signify our emphasis on cross-campus collaboration to help students access a network of support systems. The outermost circle represents the BI’s use of an equity-based inquiry cycle, in which we continuously assess and co-design improvements with our campus partners and students.
Our Approach
The vibrant BI learning community is open to all students on the Seattle campus. We are committed to supporting student success and well-being, particularly for first-generation students and men of color. We do this by focusing on transformative education and institutional change.
Holistic and Transformative Education
The BI connects participants to networks, resources, and transformative educational experiences so they can develop the skills needed to thrive in college and wherever their journey takes them after graduation. Designed as a cohort-based, learning community of scholars, the BI holistically promotes academic and personal growth, leadership development, and civic-mindedness.
Collective Impact for Institutional Change
The Brotherhood Initiative serves as a catalyst for broader organizational change at the UW, to improve educational outcomes for all marginalized populations. We collaborate with campus partners to share successful student engagement strategies across the university and beyond.
To learn more, read our Theory of Action Brief Series.