A problematic, yet uncommon, assumption among many higher education researchers is that recruitment, retention, and engagement of African-American males is relatively similar and stable across all majority White colleges and universities. In fact, the harsh reality is that selective public research universities (SPRUs) have distinctive academic cultures that increase the difficulty of diversifying their faculty and student populations. This book will discuss how traditions and elitist assumptions make it very difficult to recruit, retain, and engage African-American males. The authors will examine these issues from multiple perspectives in three sections that highlight research, policies and practices impacting the experiences of African American males, including Pre-Collegiate Preparation, African American Male Student Athletes, and Undergraduate and Graduate Considerations for African American Male Initiatives.

This collection focuses on problems in the recruitment, enrollment and retention of Black students in higher education in America.

This dissertation examined the recruitment and retention of African American students in a Predominantly White Institution in the Southeast and the associated financial resources needed to do so. Critical Race Theory (CRT) was used to explore Strategic Enrollment Management (SEM) related to African American students in higher education. The five prominent tenets of CRT as noted by Delgado & Stefancic (2012) and DeCuir & Dixson (2004) are: racism is normal, whiteness as property, interest convergence, social construction, and unique voice of color. SEM is a "comprehensive approach0́Œto achieving the optimal recruitment, retention and graduation of students" (Kalsbeek, 2013). Literature and empirical data suggest that institutions of higher education are more racially diverse after implementing a strategic plan that explicitly includes minority enrollment (Drew et al., 2015; Smith et al., 2015; Burt et al., 2016). Policies are only as great as the character and fortitude of the leadership in authority to implement and enforce change with sustainability. This case study found that African American recruitment and retention efforts were largely treated the same as recruiting and retaining White students. The participants did not identify any specific budgetary line items earmarked for African American recruitment and/or retention. The research revealed African American recruitment and retention efforts are negatively affected by the culture and climate of the institution, the politics of higher education, and the economic impact within society. Findings from the study suggest that African American recruitment efforts were largely the same as recruiting White students. African American students were primarily responsible for their own retention. Financial supports for recruitment and retention of African American students exist at the institutional level, yet the case study did not reveal funding specifically identified within the colleges, schools, institutes and/or units. Additionally, the study found a need for more communication between administrators, faculty and staff related to African American recruitment and retention.

In this 1994 classic work on student retention, Vincent Tinto synthesizes far-ranging research on student attrition and on actions institutions can and should take to reduce it. The key to effective retention, Tinto demonstrates, is in a strong commitment to quality education and the building of a strong sense of inclusive educational and social community on campus. He applies his theory of student departure to the experiences of minority, adult, and graduate students, and to the situation facing commuting institutions and two-year colleges. Especially critical to Tinto’s model is the central importance of the classroom experience and the role of multiple college communities.

Retention of African Americans on campus is a burning issue for the black community, and a moral and financial one for predominantly white institutions of higher education. This book offers fresh insights and new strategies developed by fifteen scholars concerned by the new climate in which affirmative action is being challenged and eliminated.This is the first book devoted specifically to retention of African Americans in higher education, and is unique in addressing the distinct but inter-related concerns of all three affected constituencies: students, faculty and administrators. Each is considered in a separate section.The student section shifts attention from, to paraphrase McNairy, "fixing the student" to focussing on higher education's need to examine and, where appropriate, revise policies, curriculum, support services and campus climate. Responding to the new agenda shaped by the opponents of affirmative action, but rejecting the defensive "x percent solutions" espoused by its proponents, this book puts forward new solutions that will provoke debate. Section II begins with a survey of the literature on African American administrators, and presents a Delphi study of twelve administrators to provide an understanding of pathways and barriers to success. The contributors then consider the importance of developing community support and creating alliances, the role of mentoring, and the setting of clear expectations between the individual and the institution.Starting with the recognition that African Americans represent less than five percent of full-time faculty, the chapters in the final section examine the effects of the dismantling of affirmative action, the consequences of faculty salaries trailing more lucrative non-academic employment, the declining enrollment of students of color, the politics of promotion and tenure, and issues of identity and culture. The book concludes by stressing the roles that parents, faculty and administrators must play to empower African American students to take responsibility for their own academic performance.This is a compelling, controversial and constructive contribution to an issue of national importance.