California State University's Martin Luther King Jr. Center
The MLK Center is a central hub for the exploration of African American heritage and culture. The overall Center is designed to foster an ethos of success that permeates the scholarly experience, the community, and the world by setting a tone of change lifelong improvement that inspires and fulfills the dream of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Student.
The center partners with local businesses and community organizations to assist students in making college and career connections. In addition, the MLK Center coordinates robust cultural programming to foster a sense of belonging, student inclusion, and cultural empowerment.
The Martin Luther King Jr. Scholars Program offers opportunities for engagement in leadership development, mentorship, community advocacy, personalized advising, and legacy explorations. The included exposure to workshop topics on social justice issues, community wellness, research, entrepreneurship, career success, and psychological well-being. The program established in the Fall of 2015, is a major cornerstone for efforts to ensure the success of African American heritage in their quest toward a college degree at Sacramento State.
University of California, Davis's Center for African Diaspora Student Success
The Center for African Diaspora Student Success (CADSS) is intensively focused on the retention, persistence, and graduation of all undergraduate students of the African diaspora at the University of California, Davis.
Through data-driven (research-based) decision-making, and collective and individual student experiences, we seek to understand and improve policies and practices that lead to academic excellence. As a team, we systemize institutional collaborations and academic partnerships to create a synergistic approach tailored toward African diaspora student success.
A²MEND: African American Male Education Network & Development
The African American Male Education Network Development (A²MEND) organization consists of community college faculty and administrators dedicated to the promotion and advancement of institutional change within the community college system. The A²MEND organization is purely a voluntary organization and lead by 13 members who make up the Executive Board of the organization. The Executive Board is considered a working Board, and members of the Board, including the Executive Director, do not receive any compensation for serving as Board Members and/or for leading, coordinating, and/or performing official duties. Each of the Board Members holds high-level faculty or administrative leadership positions within the California Community College system; among the 13 leaders of the organization, their current experience and responsibilities consists of the following:
- (1) District Chancellor
- (2) College Presidents
- (4) Vice Presidents, Student Services
- (3) Faculty, instructional and counseling
- (3) Deans, instruction, and student services
Collectively, the 13 board members represent over 100 years of experience working within California Community Colleges.
Since 2008, A²MEND has hosted 12 annual African American Male Summits in which policy makers, trustees, administrators, faculty, staff and students come together to identify solutions to the barriers that African American men face in community colleges. The mission of the conference is to counteract the dismal forecast of the African American male in higher education, by centrally focusing on the role of the institution. Institutions of higher learning play a pivotal role in the education, leadership, support, and engagement of these students. Various keynote speakers and over 20 informative presenters and facilitators provide interactive workshops throughout the conference that culminates into the development of realistic strategies and concrete recommendations that can be put into practice in our community colleges to address African American male success outcomes.
The African American Male Education Network and Development (A²MEND) Mentor Program provides support, guidance, professional development, and networking opportunities for A²MEND members as well as students enrolled within the community college system. A²MEND mentees are assigned to an administrator who has demonstrated expertise, leadership, and scholarship within the California Community College system, and who is committed to the personal development, professional growth, and academic success of African American males. Mentees also have the opportunity to network with other mentees and mentors within the program through various personal and professional development programs and social activities.
A²MEND has partnered with Base 11 to collaborate in offering B11 programs to high potential, but low resource A²MEND students, so as to provide them with hands-on training, education, and mentorship in STEM-related fields.
The A²MEND scholarship provides mentees with financial support for tuition, books, and living fees. The scholarship is awarded to students with special qualifications, such as academic achievement, artistic abilities, demonstrated leadership and/or athletic talents, or to students who are in particular fields of study, who are members of underrepresented groups, or who demonstrate a financial need who are mentees. In March 2019, A²MEND awarded $43,000 in scholarships to 59 students in our mentoring program. The scholarships support students in their education in community colleges as well as while transferring to four-year institutions.
Under the auspice and affiliation of the African-American Male Education Network Development (A²MEND), the Student Charter of A²MEND is a student support structure that seeks to establish an affirming environment where African American male students and other men of color are able to thrive. The aim of the A²MEND student charter is to improve academic success and to develop culturally competent servant student leaders. The student charters of A²MEND provide educational, cultural, social, and intellectual programs that promote positivity and brotherhood among its members.
There are currently 15 A²MEND student charters within the California Community College system at the following institutions:
- Antelope Valley College
- College of the Desert
- College of the Canyons
- College of Sequoias
- Cosumnes River College
- Evergreen Valley College
- Fullerton College
- Long Beach City College
- Moorpark College
- Moreno Valley College
- Mt. San Jacinto College
- Pasadena City College
- San Bernardino Valley College
- San Diego City College
- San Jose City College