HOW THE BROTHERS@ ORGANIZATION PARTNERS WITH INSTITUTIONS
TO IMPROVE EDUCATIONAL OUTCOMES FOR YOUNG MEN OF COLOR
An OSUN Digital Case Study on Brothers@Bard

Mini-documentary produced by Columbia University & Bard College highlights Brothers@’s model & institutional impact, through an Open Society University Network case study on the Brothers@Bard program. 

NEW YORK, March 7, 2022 – Brothers@ is pleased to announce our new mini-documentary—a digital case-study produced by Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs, and Bard College for the Open Society University Network (OSUN). In this 12-minute video, CEO & Co-Founder Dariel Vasquez reflects on how his undergraduate journey shaped the creation of our organization’s flagship Brothers@Bard program while he was a student, and how Brothers@ implements its model—through forming partnerships with colleges and universities—to increase the retention and graduation rates of young men of color (YMOC) in both secondary and post-secondary education. 

Through supporting, investing, and instituting Brothers@Bard as it transitioned from a student civic engagement project to a college initiative, Bard has reshaped how it approaches equity and inclusion work, setting a precedent for the impact and partnerships the Brothers@ organization envisions creating with other colleges and universities as it continues to expand.  

“Listening to the student experience, and the structures and systems that are in place on campus means that we have to confront our own issues.” — Erin Cannan, Vice President, Bard College

This mini-documentary case study has just been released at a pivotal and groundbreaking moment in Brothers @’s growth—following our recent major sponsorship from the NBA Foundation. Brothers@ is spearheading an intercampus-wide expansion across New York State to increase college graduation rates for YMOC by scaling its model through the launch of the Brothers@ Consortium in Higher Ed. The B@ Consortium aims to create partnerships with colleges and universities, forming a community of practice among key stakeholders at each institution. 

“Having nearly made the decision to drop out of college myself, and after working with collegiate men of color for the last 7 years, I’m all too familiar with the pervasive narrative surrounding the low enrollment and graduation rates of Black and Latino men in higher education; and, how the approach many institutions often take tends to position us as the problem—an issue to be fixed.” — Dariel Vasquez, Co-Founder & CEO, Brothers@

In the video, Dariel examines a question he posed to the field of Higher Education—“What happens when you take those people who are closest to the problem and often furthest from the resources…and position that group to lead the work and not just be objects of it? They tend to have the most creative solutions. They tend to be those who can see the problem and understand it and break it down and address it better than anyone else”—emphasizing that young men of color “are not the problem” but that instead, institutions need to redesign themselves in order to truly support all their students on campus. 

Brothers@ originated at Bard College in 2014, and has been highly successful in improving academic and social-emotional outcomes for YMOC in both secondary and postsecondary education. Since Brothers@'s inception, the average yearly graduation rate for high school-participating YMOC is 90%, and for collegiate men of color is 91%. This case study video is also being used across OSUN’s international courses, as a model of civic engagement in Higher Education.

“It’s made so many people better. It’s made so many people’s lives better. If this was throughout the country, the amount of people it could change, it’d be amazing.” — Nathaniel Pendergast, Brothers@ Bard Mentee

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Bard College

Bard College seeks to inspire curiosity, a love of learning, idealism, and a commitment to the link between higher education and civic participation. The undergraduate curriculum is designed to address central, enduring questions facing succeeding generations of students. 

Columbia University School of International and Public Affairs

Columbia University is a historic, internationally renowned institution in the world's most international city. They offer a combination of resources, access, and varied opportunity that no other policy school can match. The School of International and Public Affairs advances solutions to critical global issues.

Open Society University Network

The Open Society University Network (OSUN) is a global network of educational institutions that integrates learning and the advancement of knowledge—in the social sciences, the humanities, the sciences and the arts, on undergraduate and graduate levels—across geographic and demographic boundaries, promotes civic engagement on behalf of open societies, and expands access to higher education for underserved communities.

Contacts:

Dariel Vasquez, darielvasquez@brothersat.org