Host Sara Kacin speaks with academic leaders at Wayne State University to learn how they have developed their careers while empowering themselves and others.

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Episode notes

De'Andrea Matthews, Th.D., is the director of the Office of Diversity and Inclusion at the Wayne State University School of Medicine. In this role, she oversees the outreach, recruitment and retention of students, faculty and staff who are underrepresented in medicine, supporting students from K-12 through graduation from medical school as they pursue their dreams and become licensed physicians. On this episode of EmpowerED to Lead, Matthews a self-described "recovering perfectionist" shares how she continues to stay invested at the ground level and reveals why she believes in curating a personal board of directors.

About De'Andrea Matthews, Th.D.

De'Andrea Matthews, Th.D., is the director of the Office of Diversity and Inclusion at the Wayne State University School of Medicine. In this role, she oversees the outreach, recruitment and retention of students, faculty and staff who are underrepresented in medicine. A proud Detroit native, she supports students from K-12 through graduation from medical school as they pursue their professional dreams. An expert in diversity, equity and inclusion, Matthews was recently honored with a Top 100 Leaders in Education Award from the Global Forum for Education and Learning. She holds a master's in theology and a doctorate in religious education from Destiny Christian University.

Additional resources

Learn more about the Wayne State University School of Medicine Post Baccalaureate Program.

Follow De'Andrea Matthews on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and TikTok @DrDCMatthews.

Follow EmpowerED to Lead on Twitter @WSUFacSuccess.

Transcript

Narrator:

Welcome to EmpowerED to Lead, a Wayne State University podcast for academic leaders committed to empowering their community to succeed, hosted by Dr. Sara E. Kacin, director of Wayne State's Office for Teaching and Learning and assistant provost for faculty development and success.

This podcast explores the personal journeys of academic leaders, both current and emerging, to learn more about how they developed their careers. Dr. Kacin speaks with faculty and staff about their work and how they've empowered themselves and others along the way. By doing this, we hope to empower listeners like you, as you continue on your leadership path.

Sara Kacin, Ph.D.:

De'Andrea Matthews is the director of the Office of Diversity and Inclusion at the Wayne State University School of Medicine. In this role, she oversees the outreach, recruitment and retention of students, faculty and staff who are underrepresented in medicine. With more than 20 years of experience in education, plus 15 years in diversity and inclusion, De'Andrea focuses on helping underrepresented students pursue their dreams as they become competitive medical school applicants and go on to become licensed physicians. It is my great honor to welcome De'Andrea to today's episode of EmpowerED to Lead.

De'Andrea Matthews, Th.D.:

Thank you so much. It is my pleasure to be here.

Sara Kacin, Ph.D.:

Welcome! We're so glad to have you here. You know, I want to start right in with something that's been on my mind: So, through its pipeline programs, the Office of Diversity and Inclusion is increasing the number of students from underrepresented backgrounds to become successful physicians. Why is this work so important to you, De'Andrea?

De'Andrea Matthews, Th.D.:

This work is important to me because I am a native Detroiter: My family actually came to Detroit in 1964, so this is my hometown, so what concerns Detroit in particular and, of course the nation in general is very important to me, particularly as it relates to education. So I am investing in this work because I understand on the very ground level, what it means to have access to health care what it means to have access to medical education and careers outside of what your family may have been accustomed to. So all of those things are important if we're going to have, again, economic growth, as well as addressing health disparities, addressing some of the concerns of the urban communities in particular. So that's a part of the reason why it's important to me, but as I have done this work, of course, I've had my gold-star moments if you would, and one of those, if I could share it with you, is that when I was a teacher for Detroit Public Schools, which was roughly 1998 I'm telling my age but I had a student in my first grade classroom who later came through our outreach program when he was in high school, graduated from Wayne State with his bachelor's and master's degree, graduated from our medical school I got a chance to see mom and dad, who I had not seen since he was in my first grade classroom. We got a chance to hug and see each other again at the med school graduation. He is now a resident in orthopedic surgery, so that's my gold star moment, and that's really why I continue to do this work: being able to watch someone, again, grow up, make changes in their own lives and change the generations of their family for the better.

Sara Kacin, Ph.D.:

Wow and you have an integral role in that. So we know there's been an increase in applications in recent years. Can you talk a little bit about your current recruitment and retention efforts?

De'Andrea Matthews, Th.D.:

The recruitment and retention that we do is, of course, mimicked throughout the country at medical schools and other places around the country, but what we do that's a little bit different is we try to create, cultivate and sustain relationships with students, which is why the pipeline effort is so important. It's not just about meeting with a group of kids in K-12 and then catching up with them again at the undergrad level and so on. Again, just like with the story I told you about, the young man who's now orthopedic surgery resident, it's about sustaining those relationships for them to know, "OK, if I have questions, this is somebody that I trust. This is somebody that I can reach out to, and they will respond to me and let me know what I actually should be doing, and I can trust they're going to lead me in the right direction." So not just introducing yourself to someone and saying, "Hey, our school is great. Come to our school," which a lot of recruiters are doing, but really letting them know the value in coming to this institution because you have someone who you've now built a relationship with that you trust who wants to see you succeed, ultimately.

Sara Kacin, Ph.D.:

That's really amazing, and I think that personal trust in that time that it takes to build that trust is so important because it's a space that they might not have that support in other areas of their lives.

De'Andrea Matthews, Th.D.:

Absolutely. And there are multiple touchpoints along the way it's not something that's just easy, fly-by-night and just do it once, and that's it: There are multiple touchpoints throughout the process to build that trust for them to get to know you, for them to get to know your institution and other services that you provide.

Sara Kacin, Ph.D.:

Right. So building on that a little bit, what makes WSU's School of Medicine stand apart from others?

De'Andrea Matthews, Th.D.:

There are a few things that help us to stand apart from others. One of the things I like to talk about that helps us to stand apart we have built, again, the growth that we've had over the last few years under the direction of Dr. Richard Baker, the vice dean of medical education, and Dr. Herbert Smitherman, the vice dean of diversity and community affairs a part of what we have done is built this reputation around urban clinical excellence. We're building on the fact that Detroit is right here an urban city. We are an urban research university at Wayne State, so we're building on that with the message of urban clinical excellence. Again, the types of training that students will receive at Wayne State's School of Medicine is unparalleled around the country because of the multiple hospital systems that are available to us because of the relationships that we have, both at the institutional level as well as at the individual level, with various physicians right here in the community. Wayne State has a wonderful alumni base of over 24,000 physicians, so we have great alums that support, we have great faculty and staff who support as well as students who are really dedicated to the underserved communities. So a lot of students choose Wayne State because we have so many student organizations that are out there in the community doing great things, and they see that it's not just something that we say, it's something that we actually do on a regular basis.

Sara Kacin, Ph.D.:

So your office recently commemorated the 50th anniversary of [the] Post Baccalaureate Program, which is the oldest of its kind.

De'Andrea Matthews, Th.D.:

Yeah.

Sara Kacin, Ph.D.:

Can you tell us a little bit more? You kind of started talking about a little bit, but could you tell us a little bit more about the program and how it's evolved over time?

De'Andrea Matthews, Th.D.:

Certainly. So the Post Baccalaureate Program was started in 1969 by Dr. Charles Whitten and the program, again, like you said, just recently celebrated its 50th anniversary. And the wonderful thing about that is over the last 50 years, we've had over 400 graduates of the program and again, at this point, the program only accepts 16 students each year. That's the maximum number that they can accept. So we've had over 400 graduates from our medical school who are now licensed physicians. And the other thing about that and we have actually a paper that's been accepted in academic medicine. it will be coming out soon, so stay posted for that but in that paper, it gives the specifics as to the number of graduates of our program compared to the medical school as a whole who actually serve in health profession shortage areas, as well as medically underserved areas. So these numbers, again, unparalleled at other institutions, and we want to be able to continue to build on that and build support for the program so that these first-generation, low-income students have access to medical education, which for the most part you know, you have families coming from the upper echelon of your socioeconomic statuses.

Sara Kacin, Ph.D.:

So, speaking about breaking news, news just in, we recently learned that you were selected by the Global Forum for Education and Learning to receive its Top 100 Leaders in Education Award. Congratulations!

De'Andrea Matthews, Th.D.:

Thank you so much.

Sara Kacin, Ph.D.:

So what does this award mean to you?

De'Andrea Matthews, Th.D.:

This award really is a great way to culminate almost 25 years of work in education. Again, before I came to Wayne State and started working in higher ed., I worked, again, with the younger students so starting out as a Head Start teacher, moving into the elementary grades and then ultimately working in higher education. Just a combination of my experience in education and being able to help students of all ages various ages and stages of life. So it is like the cherry on top of a sundae, and I'm just thrilled about the honor.

Sara Kacin, Ph.D.:

That's pretty exciting. Can you think about how receiving this award might impact your future goals?

De'Andrea Matthews, Th.D.:

Very good question. So as far as how it impacts my future goals, I think that it's important to acknowledge those who are, again, on the ground doing the work with the students and it doesn't always get recognized because you're not necessarily in the classroom with a regular classroom schedule and things of that nature, but there are a lot of people working in education who are doing exceptional work with the students and helping them behind the scenes to make sure that their financial needs are met, to make sure that their social-emotional needs are met, and other things that aren't always judged on your GPA or on your academic transcript, for example.

Sara Kacin, Ph.D.:

So if I kind of throw an out[side] of the box kind of question here, and thinking about we know that those things are happening for students. Are there ways or feedback that we could share with faculty about how to get to know their students to learn more about who's in the classroom so that they could have a better understanding of some of those exciting things that students walk through, but also some of the challenging things that students are walking through?

De'Andrea Matthews, Th.D.:

Well, if I think about that question, as far as things to share with faculty, again, it is about learning who your audience is and that's in any industry, not just education but learning who your audience is, learning some of the difficulties. And I think that Wayne State has been focusing a lot more on that, especially with improving the retention rates. There are a lot of things that students deal with, whether they are first-generation students, whether they are low-income students, whether they are commuter students, whether they are parents because even I find myself right now, I have my own children, but I'm also caring for my elderly parents, so there are lots of scenarios that people deal with that impact their ability to succeed in higher ed. and also to do it in a timely fashion. So those are all measurements that are looked at, but again, getting to know who your audience is and understanding how you can deliver education in a way that is not only received by them, but understood and embraced.

Sara Kacin, Ph.D.:

So interestingly enough, in some of your answers, you've talked a bit about your own educational experiences  coming out of Detroit Public Schools, to starting off as even a technician at Wayne State. So how do you contribute what you've gained from those experiences to what has brought you to where you are today? What are some of those guiding values that you've taken with you?

De'Andrea Matthews, Th.D.:

I have had, actually, a pretty good run if I could say so at this point because like you've mentioned, I started at Wayne State as a technician, which for those who are not familiar, is a temporary position, and while I was working as a technician, I began to apply for full-time positions with the university, and that's when I was first hired in at the School of Medicine. Actually, I began working with the K-12 students as outreach coordinator before ultimately I was invited to be the interim director and then ultimately received the directorship of the Office of Diversity and Inclusion. So I've had some great mentors and role models along the way. It's very important, particularly if you are new to the industry, new to field, don't know all the nuances I'm still learning about faculty appointments and all things like that, but when you're learning and you're new to an institution or to an environment, it's important to have someone that you can trust, that's going to mentor you, sponsor you if needed, and give you some pointers on how to continue to succeed. Naturally, I am a lifelong learner, so I'm always teachable I'm always looking and observing what is it that I can do better, what is it that I could do differently to be able to reach the goals of the department, the institution, et cetera. So having those people around you, having that support team, understanding that, yes, there are some great things that you can do alone, but there's so much more that you can do with a wonderful team around you, so it's about building that team and bringing people alongside of you that are going to support you, that you're going to support them and ultimately work together, great, to be able to achieve the goals.

Sara Kacin, Ph.D.:

I'm going to ask you about mentors in a minute, but first, I would love to bring you back to when you were that temporary technician and you knew for whatever reasons, OK, I'm going to be applying for other positions here. So can you share some advice for those listeners who are maybe in that starting position, wherever that might be it could be numerous types of positions and what type of advice, maybe almost kind of mentorship advice, that you might give to them as they move forward and walk towards meeting their goals?

De'Andrea Matthews, Th.D.:

Excellent. So what I would recommend is to pay attention, obviously observe, ask questions. So sometimes when we are finding ourselves in a situation where we're meeting someone new, we want to go up and we want to tell people all about us which is fine, but my recommendation would be: Use that time wisely. Say you only have five minutes with this person that you've been admiring from afar because they have so many accolades and research publications, et cetera, et cetera. Ask questions use that time to kind of pull on them and learn from them in that moment, rather than just talking about yourself. So using those moments wisely, making sure that you are networking if there are events that are open to, again, staff, faculty, others to attend, go to those networking events. Introduce yourself, have your 30-second elevator speech ready, have your pitch ready and say, "Hi, my name is, and I'm interested in such and such." You never know who you can connect to that knows someone else that can help you to get into that next position.

Sara Kacin, Ph.D.:

I love that. So really looking for those connections is really something that you should be doing even though your first instinct might be to be sharing all the great things that you're doing, but really the goal is to build those connections. I love that.

De'Andrea Matthews, Th.D.:

Definitely.

Sara Kacin, Ph.D.:

So I want to switch gears a little bit and talk about kind of what's going on with the world right now. So obviously many things have changed in the world with the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, so how do you think and I know it's a short amount of time, but we've had to kind of quickly adjust. So how do you think you have evolved as a leader in what our new world is like right now?

De'Andrea Matthews, Th.D.:

Good question. So as a leader, I have evolved by putting more systems in place. I'm already very meticulous and organized, but I began to realize where I needed more systems in place, particularly as we're working remotely from home, home and work has always been separated when I get home, work is behind me; I can focus on family but now that the two have really merged, I've had to create new systems to be able to stay organized, to maintain the boundaries that are necessary in order to get the work done that needs to be done. And also, understanding because I am a recovering perfectionist so also understanding that it's OK if you don't get everything on your to-do list done. It's OK to begin to understand asynchronous learning: You know, it doesn't have to necessarily be done within a certain timeframe as long as it gets done by the time it's due. So things like that. Releasing yourself from those pressures that's an important part of how I've grown as a leader, but also making sure that as I start my weekly meetings with my staff, or as I'm going into other meetings, taking a moment to ask, "How are you doing today?" Because we don't want to just rush in with our own agenda; we want to stop and recognize we are still humans in a pandemic, dealing with a lot of emotions, dealing with being an extrovert in a space where you can't really socialize or being an introvert and loving it whatever the case may be, you want to be able to acknowledge the human side of it. Acknowledge their feelings. Even the fact that I don't have to have my camera on as I'm meeting with you because I may not want to invite you into my space today, but we have the option to have virtual backgrounds and do some fun stuff, or we can just say, "You know what? Today is not a day for the camera." Allowing ourselves the space to do that, I think, is very healthy and very important.

Sara Kacin, Ph.D.:

Great. I love that flexibility because you just never know, and it could be the difference of having the camera off that makes that person feel 100% in that moment.

De'Andrea Matthews, Th.D.:

Absolutely.

Sara Kacin, Ph.D.:

I love that I love that advice. So, we started talking a little bit about mentors earlier, so I'd kind of like to come back to that, and thinking about where you find inspiration and what are the types of values that you've kind of said, "Yep, I'm keeping that from this mentor. And I find that useful as I'm moving forward."

De'Andrea Matthews, Th.D.:

For me, mentorship has looked very different than it probably has looked for other people. As far as actual mentors, of course, my previous directors in the Office of Diversity and Inclusion, I looked up to them I learned so much from them. That would be Julia Simmons as well as Dr. Edna Jackson-Gray. But aside from that, I believe that having a personal board of directors and that personal board of directors means I have someone that I refer to for financial information, I have someone I refer to for spiritual information, I have someone I refer to for educational information, I have someone I refer to each and every area and in that way, I'm not burdening one particular person with everything, I'm tapping into those people who specialize or who know the most about these particular areas in my life.

I also am a firm believer in having online or virtual mentors long before the pandemic because there are some great people out there doing wonderful things, and I can be fulfilled, I can be empowered by their knowledge by watching a YouTube video, by following their blog, by following their podcasts and not necessarily having a direct relationship with them, but still gleaning from their knowledge and experiences, so a lot of what I do today, as far as the mentoring that I receive, is through those online and virtual mentors.

Sara Kacin, Ph.D.:

Yeah, it's interesting even how those … whether it's like a situation where you're just reading a tweet or watching a video that was posted, how that's even changed, and how there's just much more, observation-wise, communication and a lot more activity on Twitter and things like that. Sometimes, I think, even more engaging, if you will; I mean, when I look at my team and we collaborate on [Microsoft] Teams, it's so fun to have a documentation or a record of what used to be a hallway conversation. It's very interesting.

So you started talking a little bit about balance; well, obviously, health and balance especially now because for some of us, it doesn't feel like there's an end to that workday. And you talked a little bit about having compassion for yourself and understanding that it's OK, and I can kind of organize things in different ways, but what are other things that you enjoy that you do intentionally to help you stay centered and to step away and stay grounded, if you will?

De'Andrea Matthews, Th.D.:

So, I'm married and date night is very important. So maintaining that date night on the calendar is huge. And of course, you're not going out actually doing a whole lot, but even if it's just sitting up watching a movie together or something that way you have that quality time. Quality time with your loved ones, whoever they are, is very important. And, like I said, I'm caring for my elderly parents now; for a moment, I was not able to physically be there to see them, to care for them, but I made sure that we talked every day and you still express your love and concern for people. That's a part of my balance: being able to reach out, say, "Hello," "I was thinking about you," "I miss you." Those types of things are very important. Even going back to handwriting cards or letters and dropping them in the mail. Since a lot of people are at home, receiving that handwritten note in the mail is such a comfort, like, "Oh wow! They thought enough of me not to send a text, not to send an email, but they actually sat down and wrote a letter, so that was very nice." So things like that make a difference. That's a part of my balance, but also making sure that I have that downtime because, like you mentioned, the day seems to be never ending between the Zoom meetings and other calls and things of that nature, it does tend to go on and on. You do need to make sure that you're setting boundaries. On my days off and I've only had a couple so far but on my days off, I do not check my emails anymore. That's a part of making sure that I am caring for myself and focusing some time on myself. In that time, I love to read, so reading my favorite book or going back and catching up on something that's been sitting on my to-be-read pile

those types of things are important for me: taking that moment, focusing on myself and knowing that I'm OK, and everything that requires my attention is still there, but it's going to get my attention after I make sure that I'm OK.

Sara Kacin, Ph.D.:

I love that, specifically because the writing of a letter and sending the card, it brings you the joy to write the letter, and then it also offers joy to someone else who receives it, so I think that's really... it's like double advice! I love that.

So as we have been talking today, I've been listening very closely and carefully about some of the things that you hold close, that as you lead and that you try to emulate throughout the day to really do things like reflect on the gold-star moments, and thinking through those times in the past that have gotten you where you are help you as you move forward and create more goals. Creating relationships and building trust with your team. Learning who's in the room with you your specific words were, "Learn who your audience is," so whether you're with a student, then you're focused on who that student is. If you're with your team, then you're focused on that team. And another thing that I think is really key that I think is a valuable characteristic that many of our listeners have as well is a lifelong learner. You're always interested in learning new things as you go along, perhaps even based on your answers I'm adding this but not being afraid of what you learn. And I think that's very valuable. And another thing that you said is and I think that this is the big difference between six months ago and today, or maybe, I guess I need to say eight months ago now but using your time wisely, so you mentioned it in the framework of, if you're meeting somebody new, to be networking, But then you also mentioned it again, when you're off, you're focusing your time on quality time with your loved ones, whomever they may be, and reaching out to people, having compassion for yourself. So this is a really beautiful list of things that I think are characteristics and qualities that leaders incorporate every day and when you hear that long list of all these amazing things that you talked about and brought up, are there things that you're thinking, Oh, this should really be included in that list I really think this is something that I hold a high value, or are you thinking, Wow, that's a pretty good list?

De'Andrea Matthews, Th.D.:

I'm thinking, Wow, that's a pretty good list! Yeah, I think you did a great job of capturing all of those things. It makes a wonderful list, so I can appreciate hearing it in that fashion.

Sara Kacin, Ph.D.:

So where can our listeners follow you on social media, De'Andrea?

De'Andrea Matthews, Th.D.:

I can be found on social media so I am on Instagram and Twitter and my username is @DrDCMatthews, so that's D-R-D-C-M-A-T-T-H-E-W-S. On most of the social media, that's where you can find me Dr. DC Matthews. On Facebook, under my name, De'Andrea Matthews. I'm also on TikTok not on there as much but same thing, Dr. DC Matthews. So on all the social media, that's where you can find me.

Sara Kacin, Ph.D.:

Well, De'Andrea, we thank you so much for joining us today and sharing your insights around leadership.

De'Andrea Matthews, Th.D.:

Thank you so much. This has been great.

Sara Kacin, Ph.D.:

Be sure to join us on the next EmpowerED to Lead.

Narrator:

We're glad to have you listening to EmpowerED to Lead. To learn more about our podcast, please follow us on Twitter @WSUFacSuccess.