(Carson, Ca.) – California State University, Dominguez Hills (CSUDH) has been awarded a $166,000 grant from the College Futures Foundation to improve bachelor degree completion for male students of color in the California State University (CSU) system.
“Whether presented on a national or regional platform, the access, retention and graduation rates for young men of color are alarming,” said William Franklin, vice president for Student Affairs at CSUDH. He was also responsible for writing the grant and will serve as the principal investigator on this systemwide initiative. “While school success and postsecondary degree attainment of men of color at all levels in the national pipeline are important, this project will focus on the California State University, and the systemwide disparities that compel us to act.”
The grant will enable the networking of all 23 CSU campuses to plan, organize, and convene forums to share “models of best practices” for young men of color. The forums will include the participation of leaders from academic affairs and student affairs departments, and students from across the CSU system.
The educational experiences of young men of color, most notably, African-American and Latino males are “complicated by an array of challenges rarely faced by many of their female counterparts,” according to the grant proposal, and retention and graduation rates for young men of color are “alarmingly” low. Most of the 23 CSU campuses have documented significant underachievement and attrition among their male students of color, which may be the result of the lack of robust and coordinated systemwide and campus-specific practices proven to work.
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About California State University, Dominguez Hills
California State University, Dominguez Hills, centrally located in the greater Los Angeles South Bay region, is a model urban university with a wide range of academic programming, providing accessible, high quality, and transformative education to students aspiring to succeed and thrive in a complex, global society. Since 1960, CSU Dominguez Hills has served a diverse community of learners and educators collaborating to change lives and communities for the better. A national model and laboratory for student success, the university offers a proven path to opportunity and social equity, advancing a college-focused culture in the communities it serves while providing vital resources of knowledge, talent, and leadership to the greater Los Angeles region and beyond.
Today, CSU Dominguez Hills boasts over 100,000 alumni – doctors, scientists, engineers, educators, entrepreneurs – who are leaders in education, health, technology, entertainment, public service, and business, making a difference in their fields, in people’s lives, and in their communities. For more information, visit www.csudh.edu.
