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Reviewed by:
  • African American Men in College
  • Robert D. Kelly (bio)
Michael J. Cuyjet (Ed.). African American Men in College. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass, 2006. 357 pp. Cloth: $38.00. ISBN: 0-7879-6460-3.

As educators create climates that inspire African American men to learn, lead, and serve in a diverse and changing world, this resource examines the issue of African American male matriculation in a straightforward, insightful manner. In African American Men in College, Michael Cuyjet and associates not only offer insights and perspectives on the issues that face African American undergraduate men, but also provide ideas and suggestions on ways student affairs professionals, policymakers, and others can reduce the challenges and increase the successes of these men.

Edited by Cuyjet, this book is divided into two sections outlining the current state of affairs confronting African American men in college and current methods used to address these issues and enhance the campus climate for student success. Although the book paints a picture of what may constitute challenges for any student in higher education, it distinguishes itself from other books by describing how these challenges distinctively confront African American men.

At the center of the book is the notion that understanding African American men in college and enhancing the climate for academic success will yield the goal of increased graduation. The book contains a collection of best practices that enable African American male students to leave college with the social influence and power afforded by a university degree. Even though the issues presented in the book may affect all students, what Cuyjet and his associates assert is that interventions and solutions that work for one population may have a vastly different effect on African American men. The book identifies issues that are present for all African American male students. Much of the writing, however, examines predominantly White colleges and universities.

In Chapters 1-12, preeminent educators and emerging scholars share factors that promote an intellectual climate for African American men. Each chapter explores such topics as involvement, leadership, mentoring, spirituality, athletics, and sexual identity. Additionally, the first section of the book explores research on the experience of African American men on historically Black college and university campuses.

In Chapter 12, which Cuyjet authored, he summarizes particular ideas from earlier chapters and addresses the conditions under which African American students best learn and succeed. While the author highlights the few limitations of the [End Page 207] book, the material is quite powerful and sobering for any policymaker. In fact, the chapter could serve as a catalyst for change agents and social justice educators who care about the plight of African American male students in the academy.

Part 2 (chaps. 13–21) contains brief profiles of nine successful programs. Each chapter identifies a plan or a service from a different campus that has been successful in supporting African American men. These examples are varied and illustrate the creativity used on campuses across the country to promote African American male success. The programs are explained in detail, enabling readers to determine specific components that should be modified based on the reader's campus needs or particular group of African American male students.

A highlight is that Cuyjet and associates use various methodologies throughout the book. Appropriate uses of qualitative and quantitative methods illustrate how the various chapter authors enhanced the climate for African American male success. While the book reports few new research studies, it is the most comprehensive examination of African American male matriculation to date.

The power of this resource is in its holistic examination of African American men in our nation's colleges and universities. Cuyjet calls on academic administrators and student affairs educators to "examine the African-American male students on a particular campus or set of campuses to discover which specific factors contribute to degree completion and which detract from it" (p. 21). The book, based on the premise that African American male students have needs different from those of African American women, of other ethnic or racial groups, or of other men, make this book a necessity for student affairs educators and policymakers alike. Clearly it is a valuable resource.

Robert D. Kelly

Robert D...

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