On Thursday November 21, 2019, the Collegiate Male Institute hosted its inaugural Induction ceremony. Held in the Cypress Room within the Addition Financial Arena, the “Men in Maroon” ceremony centered on the young men who successfully participated in CMI’s programming. CMI programming includes reaching six or more benchmarks, such as attending educational workshops and participating in one on one advising. Every effort made by CMI is focused on helping young men create pathways for academic success while also preparing for the professional world. CMI hopes that by operating intentional programming, both levels of leadership development and student success will increase. This induction ceremony is just the beginning of a brotherhood that will foster better sons, future husbands and fathers.
Purpose: Recruiting, Retaining, and Graduating Underrepresented Collegiate Males
For more than two decades, educators and policymakers have become increasingly aware of the persistent achievement gap for male students of color, a gap that is evident through sobering disparities in overall educational attainment as compared to their female and other male peers. Latino and African American males are simply not keeping pace with males of other racial and ethnic groups in their rates of high school graduation, college enrollment, degree completion, and workforce participation. Considering the emerging U.S. demographic reality, one driven by population growth among communities of color, this pervasive gap in educational attainment poses a serious challenge to our nation’s ability to tap its human capital potential. But economic, demographic, and workforce imperatives alone are not what has brought this cross-sector collaboration together.
The goals of the UCF Male Student Success initiatives are as follows:
The Collegiate UCF Male Student Success Initiative Focus