It used to be that if you needed help – with your rent, your gas bill, your grocery bill, or your abusive spouse – figuring out whom to call for that help was nearly as complicated as the problem itself.The minority male student population is the target of a new mentoring program at IPFW in an effort to improve retention and graduation rates.
The university announced about a month ago that its fall enrollment had dropped 3.9 percent.
The Brother 2 Brother program aims to offer support, direction and guidance for male minority students.
“Brother 2 Brother must consider the needs of these students in developing campus activities and/or workshops,” said Ken Christmon, associate vice chancellor for diversity. “For example, minority male students are less likely to ask for assistance or engage with advisers, counselors, or mentors on campus, so direct outreach efforts targeted at minority male students will be beneficial.”
Andre Patterson, an outreach coordinator for IPFW, will oversee the initiative and hopes it will increase the GPA’s, engagement, involvement and success of these students.
The new mentoring program has three main goals for its targeted students:
•Develop mechanisms to make male students feel more welcome on campus and increase their sense of belonging
•Develop programming for minority male students with a variety of participation opportunities regardless of off-campus schedules
•Encourage mentorship with incentives for male faculty and minority male students
