Fulfilling a Promise
Every Monday this fall semester, De’Carlos Anderson’s cell phone would light up with an inspirational text message.
The text would be from one of the first-year or transfer students involved in the newly created University of Northern Iowa Panther Promise Academy, a developing program launched this fall that seeks to improve the retention rate of students of color by building community. The group texts are one of many ways Anderson, UNI’s assistant director of student success and retention, encourages his students to support each other as they navigate a predominantly-white campus.