1. MEN OF COLOR INITIATIVE
Seattle University
Office of Multicultural Affairs
NUFP Student Development Interns 2014
Joseph Hahn & LaDarius DuPree

2. OVERVIEW
 This presentation will showcase:
 A 3 year plan for implementation of the Men of Color Initiative
 Common practices at other universities
 Examples of events, services, and mentorship for the initiative.

3. THE EDUCATIONAL EXPERIENCE OF
MEN OF COLOR
Collegeboard Video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yA_kpQJ_Vm8

4. PURPOSE
 By providing the Men of Color at Seattle University support
through partnerships with the Office of Multicultural Affairs,
Student Development Departments, and Faculty and Staff from
all departments.
 A companion document has been created to aid with this
presentation and provide further information on how to begin the
initiative.

5. COLLEGES USED FOR REFERENCE
 Men of Color programs are found in a few schools throughout
the United States
 Loyola Chicago, DePaul, and University of Notre Dame are
religious institutions with MOC Programs
 Many public universities and community colleges were also
referenced

6. WHY HAVE THE PROGRAM?
 Many universities with a large population of Men of Color have a
Men of Color program
 Being in Seattle, the Men of Color program could be more
successful then other locations in the Pacific Northwest
 DePaul’s and Loyola Chicago’s programs are successful in part
to Chicago’s high black population.
 SU can succeed with persistence

8. STRATEGIC PLAN
 The Men of Color initiative falls in line with the holistic goals of
Seattle University
 Goal 1: Strengthen our capacity to provide a high-quality and
transformational education rooted in the Jesuit tradition
 Goal 2: Prepare our graduates to lead meaningful and successful
professional lives.

9. PROGRAM GOALS
 Provide male students of color with satisfaction and mentorship
covering four student development needs: spiritual, mental,
physical, and social.
 Provide transitional support for male students of color as they
enter the university
 Bridge the gap for men of color with other university resources
and programs: housing, leadership opportunities, athletics,
academics, etc.
 Involve students, faculty, staff, and alumni to create a Seattle
University Men of Color Network

10. PRINCIPLES
 The program should adhere to the following principles:
•Academic Excellence
•Identity Development
•Inclusion
•Leadership Development
•Opportunities for Upperclassmen of Color to Serve as Mentors
•Professional Development
•Retention Maintenance
•Support Services

12. BENEFITS
 The following organizations and populations will benefit from the
initiative:
 Seattle University: Showcasing the program in every way possible
(website, JASPA, etc.) we can effectively show our community that
this student population with a history of challenges in higher
education can help bring more Men of Color and their families to join
the Seattle University community and other institutions will follow SU’s
example
 Male Students of Color: Develop these men into holistic beings that will
represent the university proudly in the greater global community.
 Faculty and Staff: Provide enriching opportunities for non-client
members through pathways of mentorship, access, and
transformative involvement in the lives of youth.

13. BENEFITS CONT.
 Academia: Access for men of color to explore their backgrounds
and learn about the historical challenges their population has
faced and strive toward empowering others.
 Campus departments can aid in developing leaders which will
help provide more male and people of color leaders on campus to
ensure students of all backgrounds are represented
 Ex: More students seeing Men of Color as Orientation Assistants,
Resident Advisors, etc.

14. BENEFITS CONT.
 Non-Students of Color: The creation of the program will contribute to
the critical analysis of non-students of color by increasing the visibility
of MOC and reinforcing the Jesuit mission of acceptance and social
justice.
 Community: Establish a connection with men of color from around
Seattle as well as a state and national connection. Can help form
connections for students who may have career goals that do not
match MOC at Seattle University.

15. YEAR 1: FOUNDATION | FALL
Establish a steering committee to ensure the
following:
 Research Practices that MOC need to succeed
 Focus Groups
 Budget and Facilities

16. RESEARCH PRACTICES
 The initiative will succeed with additional research:
 Historical trends at SU and other colleges
 What Modern MOC need
 Traits of successful MOC
 Retention efforts for MOC across the nation

17. FOCUS GROUPS
Designed to find:
 What MOC students want from the program
 What Faculty and Staff envision for the program
 Provide a safe space for discussion amongst MOC,
help simulate how the initiative will work during the
pilot

18. BUDGET AND FACILITIES
How will the group be funded?
Who will advise the students?
Where will they meet? How often?

19. YEAR 1 | WINTER
Student Development Involvement:
 The formation of different materials needed for program
implementation.
 How will each department play a role in the development of this
program?
 Use the research from Fall term to see what and how the different
departments can aid the program

20. YEAR 1 |SPRING TERM
 Recruitment of GAs, student volunteers, professors, university staff
that are interested in getting this program off the ground
 Visioning for Pilot year.
 Identifying mentors and student coordinators for the pilot year

21. IDENTIFYING MENTORS
 What men of color faculty/staff can dedicate time to mentoring
students?
 What do they want to get out of the experience?
 Meet regularly with each other to express goals, concerns, etc.
 Determine what role you want mentors to serve

22. MENTOR ROLES
 Meet with a small group of students monthly
 Create time to meet with student 1-on-1
 Actively seek ways to interact with mentees
 Attend Men of Color program events and meetings
 Provide mentees with support to succeed inside and
outside of the classroom
 Work alongside Student Coordinators to create
workshops and other services

23. STUDENT COORDINATORS
 To run the pilot program, a few student coordinators are
crucial
 Spring Year 1 (or earlier) identify MOC students that would
like to assist in the program
 Potentially include in work for a Graduate Assistant or Intern

24. STUDENT COORDINATOR ROLES
 Organize different events and programs
 Actively involved with recruiting events
 Have “office hours”—time available to meet with students
whenever they are needed
 Facilitate Men of Color meetings
 Work alongside Faculty/Staff Mentors to create workshops and
other services

25. YEAR 2 |THE PILOT PROGRAM
 The Pilot year takes the research, committee, and
work from Year 1 and prepares it for the first set of
students in the program
 Designed to allow students to join in at any time, but
recruitment focused during the first few weeks of Fall
term (when students are looking for involvement)

26. YEAR 2| BY TERM
 Fall: Implementation (smaller version than what the actual
program will look like), more recruitment efforts for current
cohort
 Winter: Continuation of Services
 Spring: Assessment, recruitment for next year, solicitation
for peer mentors

27. SUMMER IN SEATTLE
 The recruitment begins with Summer in Seattle.
 While a separate session time just for Men of Color
might not be possible, there are other ways to interact
with students:
 Brochures available
 Mentioned in OMA presentation
 Mentioned to parents and families during their session

28. WELCOME WEEK
Welcome Week is crucial for recruitment
 Upperclassmen facilitation
 Men of Color Social can include:
 Welcome Address
 Program Information
 Men of Color Panel
 MOC in Seattle information
 Info on various services in Seattle that can help Men of Color succeed.
 Barbershops, the International District, churches, etc.
 Board games, icebreakers, and other activities

29. ESTABLISH MENTORSHIP
 Establishing Mentorship is important during Fall term
 3-5 Mentees per mentor
 Meet 1-on-1 and as a group
 Some pairing can be through pairing
 Ex: DePaul has juniors match up with faculty mentors from
their department (and preferably major)

30. INVOLVEMENT FAIR
 Tabling event
 Work with other multicultural groups
 Co-recruitment
 Ex: BSU

31. KEY SERVICES AND
PROGRAMS
• Leadership Development – connection to resources (i.e. assessments, Redhawk
application), development of the Redhawk Experience
• Career Services - Cumulate the trainings they have about skills needed for job
search and adding them the Men of Color experience
• Housing & Residential Life - Aid in bringing together MOC and providing
programming within the residence halls, getting them active in residential life,
community bonding with student different from themselves, RA selection prep
• Commuter and Transfer Life - Multicultural competence training to aid
collegium leaders in helping MOC
• New Student and Family Programs - Inclusive programming for families of color,
keeping families involved with the college journey

32. KEY SERVICES AND PROGRAMS
CONT.
•University Recreation - Form an intermural group
•Integrity Formation – Trainings on consent, Wingmen, university conduct, and
the Redhawk Commitment
•Health, Wellness, & Counseling – discussions on mental health, sex, sexuality,
health concerns for men of color, healthy relationships
•Disability Services – As needed, awareness
•Student Activities – Connection to other campus clubs, and leadership roles,
campus events

33. KEY SERVICES AND PROGRAMS
 Mentorship: As mentioned before, research has shown the MOC programs do not
succeed without mentorship
 Retention: Students returning to campus and the program
 Community Building: Create a larger sense of community
 Leadership & Professional Development: Develop future leaders

34. YEAR-ROUND PROGRAMS
 Community | Men of Color Outings:
Going out to dinner together, exploring Seattle, community events
 Social Justice | Service Trips:
Creating groups to go out and serve. An ongoing service program with groups of color
would also be beneficial
• Wellness | Intermural Sport teams:
To encourage an ongoing relationship with one another and support values of
teamwork and sportsmanship
o Or host your own athletic events like Tarrant County College’s 3-on-3 Hoopfest.
 Academics |Study groups:
Creation of different study groups based on majors. Especially helpful for first year
students in general education courses

35. Columbia
University

36. Workshops
Tackling
Violence:
Rethinking the
Male Identity

37. Columbia
University’s Men of
Color Alliance
Wings and Things
program

38. Reclaiming Our Legacy
Male Success Alliance
California State University Dominquez Hills

39. Collaboration
between Men of
Color Alliance
and SisterCircle
Gender Fishbowl

40. Lunch Series at
University of
Michigan
(Also have
Women of
Color series)

41. YEAR 3 | ROOT PLANTING
 With a continuation of the Pilot year’s program (with more
mentors, students, and alumni involvement) Year 3 should focus
on making sure the program survives long term

42. YEAR 3 BY TERM
Year Three – Root Planting
•Fall: Identifying key stakeholders/campus investors with this
project (i.e., who’s really interested in this initiative), cutting
program aspects that don’t fit.
•Winter: Future Visioning
•Spring: Formalized Proposal

43. YEAR 3 |FALL
 Key stakeholders
 Who has contributed to the success of the program?
 What other involvement is needed to succeed?
 What programs did not work last year? What can be cut?
 What did students express is a MUST have?

44. YEAR 3 |WINTER
 Future Visioning
 Create yearly, 5-year, and 10-year plans for the program that are
integrated within the overall plans of OMA, Student Development,
and Seattle University as a whole
 Document the process to ensure materials will be passed on to
successors in the program
 Ensure student leaders in the program are passing on the torch to
younger students so the legacy does not end with graduation

45. YEAR 3 |SPRING
Formalized Proposal
 Using the work from Fall and Winter, propose how to make
the Men of Color initiative a permanent staple within Seattle
University
 Identify funding resources and who will oversee the program
to ensure it meets its goals

46. CONCLUSION
 For success in starting the Men of Color initiative the
following is crucial:
 Collaboration amongst different departments
 Identifying Mentors and Student Leaders to drive the programs
success
 Creation of a network for Men of Color
 Focused commitment to the advancement of Men of Color and
Seattle University

47. QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS?

48. REFERENCES
 Collegeboard. “The Educational Experience of Young Men of Color” Online video clip. YouTube. YouTube, Jan. 2012. Web.
August 2014.
 Harper, S. R. (2014). (Re)setting the agenda for college men of color: Lessons learned from a 15-year movement to improve
Black male student success. In R. A. Williams (Ed.), Men of color in higher education: New foundations for developing models
for success (pp. 116-143). Sterling, VA: Stylus.
 Harper, S. R. (2012). Black male student success in higher education: A report from the national Black male college
achievement study. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania, Center for the Study of Race and Equity in Education.
 "Male Success Alliance Mission Statement." MSA at CSU Dominguez Hills. Web. 02 Aug. 2014. <http://www4.csudh.edu/msa/>.
 Mata Eric, Assistant Director of Multicultural Student Success at DePaul University, Conversation
 Men of Color Alliance (MCA). Columbia University. Web. 02 Aug. 2014.
<http://www.studentaffairs.columbia.edu/OMA/socialjustice/MCA.php>.
 "Men of Color Mentoring Program." Tarrant County College -. Web. 02 Aug. 2014.
<http://www.tccd.edu/Student_Services/Student_Activities/Men_of_Color_Mentoring.html>.
 "My Brothers: Lunch Series for Self-Identified Men of Color." Office of Multi-Ethnic Student Affairs. Web. 02 Aug. 2014.
<http://mesa.umich.edu/article/my-brothers-lunch-series-self-identified-men-color>.
 "Office of Multicultural Student Success." Men of Color Initiative. Web. 02 Aug. 2014.
<http://www.studentaffairs.depaul.edu/omss/moc.html>.
 "Students." // Diversity at Notre Dame // University of Notre Dame. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 Aug. 2014.
<http://diversity.nd.edu/students/>.