SACJTC Newsletter

At this year's annual meeting of the Commission on Colleges, SACJTC will take a more active role. We will sponsor a forum December 8 at 11:15 a.m., on Balcony 1, Fourth Floor of the New Orleans Marriott Hotel. George Autry will join Jack Sasser and members of our board in exploring with our community college colleagues the phenomenon of declining male enrollment in the Southern community college. Dr. Autry will describe the additional research that his organization has accomplished on this topic, and board members will share some of the beginning efforts in our region to enroll more male students.

The luncheon meeting will feature Dr. Lee Noel and Dr. Randi Levitz. The topic of their luncheon presentation is "What Is Expected and Valued by Males --The Key to Boosting Male Enrollment in Postsecondary Institutions." They will present the results of their research on the pattern of male attendance in 181 two-year community, junior and technical colleges across the nation. More important, they wil suggest strategies for recruiting and retaining male students.

Tickets for the upcoming annual meeting can be purchased for $25 each from any member of the Executive Committee or the Board of Directors. A list of those individuals along with their addresses and phone numbers are at the end of this issue.

By Kenneth Holden, Ed.D
Department Chairman for Counseling and Project M.A.L.E. Director
Houston Community College System - Central College

At the Central College campus of the Houston Community College System, an attempt has been made to meet the needs of minority males in the community who have been identified as educationally and economically disadvantaged. The program that addresses the academic problems facing minority males in America today is called Project M.A.L.E. (Motivation and Achievement through Leadership and Education). The program serves as an exemplary retention model to address the problems of low enrollment and persistence among minority males in higher education. The program also seeks to enhance the community's quality of life by providing an alternative through innovative educational programming in an effort to empower disadvantaged males to achieve their greatest potential. This special population is disproportionately under-represented in our nation's community colleges. In addition, vocational opportunities that exist in technical areas are seldom explored as viable, satisfying career options. Through the Houston Independent School District and the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, minority males are identified and assisted in enrolling in our vocational/technical programs. These males receive services in the areas of counseling, testing, academic advisement, financial aid, job placement, tutorial support, and personal growth workshops (that develop leadership potential, self-discipline, health, and cultural awareness).

The Houston Community College System, the largest multicampus community college in Texas and the second largest in the nation, is well suited for addressing the needs of this special population. Of the college's 60,000-plus students, 53 percent are ethnic minorities and nearly three-quarters meet federal guidelines for classification in one or more special population categories. Special populations are reportable designations for persons with limited English proficiency, the economically disadvantaged, the educationally disadvantaged, persons with disabilities, and persons who are incarcerated.

The Project M.A.L.E. model has been in existence since 1992 and has been funded under the Carl Perkins Vocational Education Act since 1995. As a proficient model for recruitment and retention, the program has been quite successful. During the spring 1996 site visit of the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board team, Project M.A.L.E. was cited as a very innovative program targeting at-risk minority males in the community. The program initially began with a target population of minority males at five high schools within the vicinity of the campus and five pardons and parole offices in the area.

During 1996 the program increased participation from five to 12 high schools. The program increased its services with five area pardons and parole offices to eight offices. The program has formed partnerships with three GED preparation schools in the Houston area. The program also participates in a 2 + 2 program with the Black Male Initiative Program at Texas Southern University in the Houston area. Young men enrolled in this portion of the program have expressed a desire to pursue an academic track of study as opposed to a two-year associate's degree in the area of vocational studies.

Three area churches have formed partnerships with the program as a part of their "Rites of Passage" programs. During the spring semester the program presented its annual "Seminar Series." The topics addressed were Managing Your Credit, Male Responsibility/Safe Sex, Balancing Your Checkbook, Career Planning for Vocational Majors, Interviewing Techniques for Vocational Majors, Test-Taking Techniques, HIV and Risk Reduction, Tough Times: Job Strategies--Parts I and II, Accepting Yourself and Meeting Life Head-on, and Reducing Anger and Resolving Conflict.

The pardons and parole offices in the Houston area have been very supportive since the program's inception. The parole officers assist in screening those parolees that have a sincere desire to make a difference in their lives. Along with providing financial aid to these young men, the program provides bus tokens for daily transportation to and from school and assists with purchasing books and supplies. At the high schools communication exists between the counselors and the Project M.A.L.E. staff to provide the assistance needed for young men who have been identified as high-risk.

The program model has been presented at several conferences throughout the country. Last year the Project M.A.L.E. model was presented at the Minority Male Consortium in Baltimore, the network-based Learning and Literacy Conference in Cleveland, the Criminal Justice Education Conference in New York, the Minority Student Retention Conference in New Orleans, and the Access and Equity Conference
in Austin.

Currently, Project M.A.L.E. is the only program on the community college level in the Houston area that specifically addresses the needs of minority males. During the 1996-97 academic year, 1,842 males were enrolled into academic programs with the Houston Community College System.

The goals of Project M.A.L.E. include the following:

• To recruit and enroll minority males (black, Hispanic, Asian, and Native American) who are identified as first- time ex-offenders, at-risk high school students, and economically and educationally disadvantaged into vocational/technical programs at the Houston Community College by providing them information regarding opportunities in those fields and the support services available.
• To expand services for minority male first-time ex-offenders, minority male at-risk high school students, and economically and educationally disadvantaged minority males, with special emphasis on orientation, assessment and testing, counseling, self-actualization, and acquisition of lifelong learning skills, increased motivation, and self-esteem through personal growth seminars, and the fostering of academic achievement through the development of positive attitudes and behaviors.
• To provide coordinated job readiness activities and assist in job development for part-time and summer jobs during the academic year, as well as full-time employment once a participant has earned a certificate and/or associate's degree.

The organizational structure for the administration of the program is made up of the project director and a full-time project assistant. Clerical support is provided by the college. All administrative personnel funds are furnished by the college as in-kind matching. The funds for printing, media exposure, telecommunication expenses, office supplies, and postage are all furnished by the college. An advisory board consisting of ethnically diverse community leaders representing community service organizations, churches, fraternities/sororities, local professionals, and entrepreneurs assists the project staff in developing a comprehensive model. The advisory board also promotes and provides outreach/recruitment services, disseminates information about available community resources, and assists with program evaluation.

Recruitment of students is ongoing and conducted by the project director and project assistant. To assist in this aspect, Project M.A.L.E., in conjunction with the Houston Independent School District, targets at-risk minority male students,and the Pardons and Parole Division of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice targets ex-offenders. The goal of this venture is the retention of minority males in high school or a GED program and their ultimate entry into college. Other community linkages for dissemination of information and followup consist of A-Betterway Outreach Center (for male substance abusers), the Chicano Family Center, Texas House (a halfway house for ex-felons), the Cornell Correction Center, the Rehabilitation Center of the Veterans Administration, the Minority MALE Mentoring program through the March of Dimes, Parents Against Crime (PAC), Police Activities League (PALS), Midnight Basketball Program through the Judson Robinson Community Center, Southwest Key (a juvenile facility), Reid Correctional Facility, Project LEAP (a juvenile facility), New Directions (a halfway facility), Riverside Hospital's Choices (outpatient program), the Houston Urban League's Job Center, Extended Aftercare Inc. (a residential treatment facility), Career and Recovery Resources Inc., and the NAACP.

Based on our experience and analysis of the project, the following recommendations are presented for consideration. It is hoped that other colleges and universities will become involved in programs of this type, increasing the alternatives for economically and educationally disadvantaged minority males in this country.

1. Develop community partnerships to further determine the needs of all minority males.
2. Engage in efforts to promote funding of programs that address the needs of economically and educationally disadvantaged males in this country.
3. Conduct extensive research to determine if programs of this type are providing alternatives for disadvantaged males and assisting them in becoming a part of our global economy.
4. Provide more programs of this type for young minority males at the elementary level before some of the ills of our society become a natural part of their being.

George B. Autry, a native of Wilmington, North Carolina, was educated at Duke University (A.B., 1958), at the Duke University Law School (J.D., 1961), and at the George Washington University Graduate School of Public Law.

Following his years at Duke, Autry was named a Richardson Foundation Congressional Fellow and later became chief counsel and staff director of Sam Ervin's U.S. Senate Subcommittee on Constitutional Rights.

Autry is a member of the Editorial Board of the Forum for Applied Research and Public Policy, the Board of Directors of the Sam J. Ervin Jr. Memorial Library, the Board of Trustees of the University of North Carolina at Wilmington, the Advisory Board of the Pew Charitable Trusts' public journalism initiative, and the Ford Foundation-sponsored Task Force on the Role of the Community College in Rural America. He is also chairman of the Board of Directors of the Lucy Daniels Center for Early Childhood and chairman of the Southern Education Foundation Task Force on Education and Economic Development.

He has written for the New York Times, Philadelphia Inquirer, and Atlanta Journal-Constitution and is a frequent contributor to the North Carolina and the scholarly press on economic and work force development issues.

Autry is president of MDC, Inc., a private, nonprofit corporation located in Chapel Hill. For 29 years MDC has conducted research and demonstrations on education and training policies and programs as they relate to employment and economic growth.

Recent MDC reports include "The State of the South," an analysis of 30-year trends in population, jobs, income, poverty, and education in the South; "Greater Expectations: The South's Workforce Is the South's Future," on work force challenges facing the South; "America's Shame, America's Hope: Twelve Million Youth at Risk," on how at-risk youth have fared in the education reform movement (the report that inspired Bill Moyers' PBS special "All Our Children"); "Shadows in the Sunbelt," concerning economic development problems facing the rural South; and "Coming Out of the Shadows: The Changing Face of Rural Development in the South," an examination of shifts in rural development policy and planning five years after "Shadows in the Sunbelt."

Southern Association of
Community, Junior, and Technical Colleges

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

PRESIDENT
Dr. Jackson N. Sasser, President
Lee College
P.O. Box 818
Baytown, TX 77522-0818
(281) 425-6550
Fax (281) 425-6555

VICE PRESIDENT
Dr. Jim Hudgins, President
Midlands Technical College
P.O. Box 2408
Columbia, SC 29202-2408
(803) 738-2994
Fax (803) 738-7821

SECRETARY-TREASURER
Dr. Marshall W. Smith, President
John Tyler Community College
13101 Jefferson Davis Hwy.
Chester, VA 23831-5399
(804) 796-4020
Fax (804) 796-4364

PAST PRESIDENT
Dr. Edwin R. Massey, President
Indian River Community College
3209 Virginia Ave.
Fort Pierce, FL 34981-5599
(561) 462-4701
Fax (561) 462-4724

EDITOR
Dr. Allen Edwards, President
Pellissippi State Technical Community College
P.O. Box 22990
Knoxville, TN 37933-0990
(423) 694-6616
Fax (423) 694-6435

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Class of 1997

Dr. Patrick R. Lake, President
Henderson Community College
2660 S. Green St.
Henderson, KY 42420
(502) 827-1867
Fax (502) 826-8391

Dr. Dorothy L. Lord, President
Coastal Georgia Community College
3700 Altama Ave.
Brunswick, GA 31523-3644
(912) 264-7201
Fax (912) 262-3282

Class of 1998

Dr. Julius R. Brown, President
Wallace Community College-Selma
P.O. Box 1049
Selma, AL 36702-1049
(334) 876-9230
Fax (334) 872-0158

Dr. Tommy Davis, President
East Mississippi Community College
P.O. Box 188
Scooba, MS 39358
(601) 476-8442
Fax (601) 476-8822

Class of 1999

Dr. Cuyler A. Dunbar, President
Catawba Valley Community College
2550 Highway 70, SE
Hickory, NC 28602
(704) 327-7000, Ext. 210
Fax (704) 327-7276

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http://www.pstcc.cc.tn.us/sacjtc/

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