Drew University Partners with MentorPRO to Pioneer AI-Driven Student Support, Building on Legacy of Innovation
MADISON, N.J. – March 9, 2025 – Drew University, a trailblazer in integrating technology with education, today announced a landmark partnership with MentorPRO to deploy and test its AI-powered mentoring platform campus-wide. This collaboration positions Drew as the first university to fully integrate MentorPRO’s evidence-based tools, combining peer and alumni mentorship with cutting-edge AI to redefine student support.
The initiative will launch with first-year students, pairing them with trained peer mentors via MentorPRO’s platform to navigate academic, social, and career challenges. As these students progress, they will gain exclusive access to flash mentoring opportunities, connecting them with the Drew alumni and business community for experiential learning in a wide range of fields. The partnership also designates Drew as the testbed for studying AI’s role in scaling personalized mentorship, supported by MentorPRO’s recent grant from the National Science Foundation.
MentorPRO was co-founded by Jean Rhodes, the Frank L. Boyden Professor of Psychology at the University of Massachusetts Boston, founding director of the Center for Evidence-Based Mentoring and New Jersey native. Her scholarly impact includes over 200 peer-reviewed publications and influential books like Older and Wiser: New Ideas for Youth Mentoring in the 21st Century (Harvard University Press), which reimagines mentoring for the digital age. Rhodes was recently recognized by the American Psychological Association with the Urie Bronfenbrenner Award for Lifetime Contribution to Developmental Psychology in the Service of Science and Society.
MentorPRO equips students with goal-setting tools, just-in-time resources, and secure mentor communication channels and contributes to students’ improved sense of belonging, mental health, and academic outcomes. The platform provides mentors with training in supportive accountability and ethics, ensuring fidelity to best practices. Drew students will actively shape the platform’s evolution through user-centered design sprints, testing AI features like predictive challenge resolution and dynamic resource matching.
“Drew’s history of student-centric innovation makes it the ideal partner,” said Dr. Rhodes. “By studying how AI can amplify—not replace—human connections, we’re creating a model that balances technological scale with psychological safety.”
The collaboration builds on Drew’s legacy of tech-forward education, beginning in 1984 when it was the first university to provide computers to every student on campus. Today, it extends to preparing graduates for an AI-driven workforce while addressing national concerns about student mental health and retention.
