Welcome to Discover Belonging
About Dr. Richard Gary Drent
Doctoral Work
"Dr. Drent did groundbreaking scholarly work on his dissertation Human Belonging: Theory and Experience. During our several discussions, Dr. Drent has shown a remarkable ability for raising probing questions and expressing his thoughts with clarity and precision. He is a diligent and meticulous individual who has a flair for synthesizing ideas from varied sources. His dissertation was a thoughtful investigation into the phenomenon of belongingness, an integral consideration for students of leadership. His synthesis which connects the idea of salient identity to an individual’s connection with an external agency contains ideas which can be applied to organizational challenges such as retention and academic success."
Dissertation Committee Members
Argosy University - Hawaii, Graduate School of Business and Management
Professional Background
In 2023, Dr. Drent joined the Manchester Bidwell Training Center (https://bidwelltraining.edu/) as Senior Director of Education. The Manchester Bidwell Training Center has over 50 years of experience providing hands-on training to provide professional career training to students from all walks of life.
Bidwell Training Center offers no-cost programs to qualifying students, including:
Chemical Laboratory Technician
Culinary Arts
Medical Assistant
Horticulture Technology
Medical Coder/Biller
Pharmacy Technician
From 2019 to 2023, he was Director of Education and Training at the A. Philip Randolph Institute (APRI) in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. APRI is "committed to social progress for minorities, the poor and working people and dedicated to providing programs that extend democracy, education and opportunity to those traditionally disenfranchised or discouraged from participation." His four years at APRI was an intentionally immersive endeavor to not just study race relations and workforce development but to be personally involved in the experience.
Dr. Drent views teaching workforce development skills to the target populations of these nonprofits as a mutual learning experience in which he continues to develop his understanding of leadership and a "sense of belonging" while his students gain work and life skills to become eligible for family sustaining careers.
Dr. Drent has been involved in adult education for over 30 years. He and his wife owned and operated North Hills School of Health Occupations from 1985 to 2000. He then joined Education Management Corporation and became the Assistant Vice President of Regulatory Compliance. When EDMC collapsed in 2014, Dr. Drent decided to complete his doctoral studies and work with nonprofit workforce development agencies. He holds a Doctorate of Education in Organizational Leadership, a Master of Arts in Adult Education and Training and is a Certified Lean Six Sigma Black Belt.
Dr. Drent is available for consultation on applying the Six Critical Elements of a Sense of Belonging to personal development or organizational effectiveness and efficiency. Please use the Contact Page to request information.
