Given the continued plight of men of color in college after a decade of ineffective interventions focused more on “fixing the student” than on addressing the social, structural and institutional forces that undermine his academic achievement, this book is intended as a catalyst to change the direction of the dialogue, by providing a new theoretical framework and strength-based models for developing strategies for success.
This book brings together five of today’s leading scholars concerned with the condition of males of color in higher education – LeManuel Bitsóí, Edmund T. Gordon, Shaun Harper, Victor Sáenz and Robert Teranishi, who collaborated closely through of a series of conversations convened by the College Board to diagnose the common factors impeding the success of under-represented males and to identify the particular barriers and cultural issues pertaining to the racial and ethnic groups they examine.
This cohesive volume starts with the recognition that understanding males' disengagement from the classroom requires determining what it means to be a male in a non-dominant group in today’s society. The authors use the methods of feminist theory to uncover the impact of dominant paradigms of White, middle-class, heteronormative masculinity on men of color in general, to define what comprises masculinity for various groups, subgroups and individuals, and to lay bare the social and institutional forces that perpetuate constructions of masculinity that negatively impact men of color.
They demonstrate that researchers and practitioners alike must pay more careful attention to within-group diversity as they study college men of color and create initiatives that respond to their varied needs. They establish the need for men of color campus initiatives to be mindful of the masculinities with which students enter college, as well as how they develop, negotiate and perform their gender identities on campus; the vital importance, in developing programs and interventions, of addressing the sociological undercurrents of men’s bad behaviors and poor help-seeking tendencies; and for providing opportunities for men to engage in critical individual and collective reflection on how they have been socialized to think of themselves as men.
This book advances the critical priorities of increasing enrollments and completion rates among college men of color, and of graduating well-developed men with strong, conflict-free gender identities.
For practitioners who work with these populations, it offers insights and signposts to create successful programs; for researchers it offers a set of new directions for analysis; and for policymakers, new ways of thinking about how policy and funding mechanisms ought to be reconsidered to be more effective in responding this issue.
Freeman A. Hrabowski
LeManuel Bitsóí currently serves as an associate in the Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology at Harvard University. In addition, Dr. Bitsóí is the lead Native American scholar for an initiative focusing on men of color sponsored by the College Board. As an advocate for minority scientists and scholars, Dr. Bitsóí also serves as the secretary for the board of directors for the Society for Advancement of Chicanos/Latinos and Native Americans in Science. Dr. Bitsóí previously served as the Diversity Action Plan Program director in the Department of Genetics at Harvard Medical School, and as Training Director for the FlyBase Model Organism Database in the Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology at Harvard, where he directed training programs for underrepresented minority students interested in pursuing genomic sciences at the undergraduate and postdoctoral levels.
Edmund T. Gordon is the chair of the African and African Diaspora Department as well as an associate professor in anthropology at the University of Texas at Austin. His teaching and research interests include: Culture and power in the African diaspora, gender studies (particularly Black males), critical race theory, race education and the racial economy of space and resources. His publications include Disparate Diasporas: Identity and Politics in an African-Nicaraguan Community, 1998, UT Press.
ShaunR. Harper, PhD, is a professor in the Marshall School of Business at theUniversity of Southern California, and is the USC Race and Equity CenterExecutive Director. He is an expert on racial, gender, and LGBT issues incorporations, law firms, Hollywood production companies, and universities. Healso is an expert on college sports. He offers organizations live, andhigh-quality virtual experiences on a range of topics pertaining to equity,diversity, and inclusion in business and on campus.
Dr. Harper has consulted with more than 200 businesses and institutions onstrategies related to equity, diversity, and inclusion. He has published over100 peer-reviewed journal articles and other academic publications, andprocured $13 million in research grants. He is presently working on Equity,Diversity, and Inclusion in Business, his 13th book. His research has beencited in over 12,000 published studies. The Wall Street Journal, New YorkTimes, Fortune, Washington Post, Black Enterprise, and several thousandother news outlets have quoted Professor Harper and featured his research. Hehas been interviewed on CNN, ESPN, and NPR.
Prior to becoming a faculty member, he was Assistant Director of MBA Admissionsfor the Indiana University Kelley School of Business. Dr. Harper spent a decadeat the University of Pennsylvania, where he was a tenured full professor.
Victor B. Sáenz is currently an assistant professor in the Department of Educational Administration at the University of Texas at Austin. He is also a Faculty Fellow with the Division of Diversity & Community Engagement and a faculty affiliate with the Center for Mexican American Studies. Dr. Sáenz received his PhD (2005) and a Masters degree (2002) from UCLA in Higher Education & Organizational Change. He also holds a Master’s degree (1999) from the LBJ School of Public Affairs and a Bachelor’s degree in Mathematics (1996) from the University of Texas at Austin. Dr. Sáenz was born and raised in the Rio Grande Valley of South Texas.
