In 2012, Southern University System President Ronald Mason established a comprehensive male enrichment project called The Five-Fifths Agenda for America to identify Black male students who are struggling academically, but who are deemed to have the potential to succeed. It includes a support system similar to Latham’s, but with national parameters. Southern received $1 million in state funds to launch the effort.
Other HBCUs are also finding ways to recruit and retain more male students. At Florida A&M, which, in fall 2013, had 61.5 percent female enrollment, Dr. William Hudson, vice president for student affairs, says the university “has made a concerted effort to increase enrollment of male students through community engagement with middle and high schools.” He says the school is using its existing initiatives such as the Federal TRIO programs and Upward Bound, which are open to males and females, to reach out to and assist male students who need support.
Hudson stresses that the young women who are succeeding are deserving of that success. “I believe academic preparedness and utilization of support services has a significant impact on student success … and from my personal experience, female students tend to seek assistance more often than their male counterparts.”
Southern University and A&M College senior Keyaira Franklin says she has noticed a change on the Baton Rouge, La., campus in the last year. “Don’t get me wrong, there are still so many more women than men, but I’ve started seeing more men in some of my mass [communication] classes and in the [cafeteria].”