In 2001, the six-year graduation rate from the University of Memphis for African American males was just 19%. Nearly two decades later, and thanks in large part to the many initiatives that have been implemented since, that graduation rate reached 36.5% following the 2019 summer semester. That’s a 4% improvement from the previous year and a 12% increase from just two years ago.
As a result of the recent rise in African American males graduating, the UofM is now above the national average in this category. The most recent data from the National Center for Education Statistics shows 35% of African American males at a four-year public institution graduated within six years.
While the UofM has obviously made impressive strides helping African American males reach degree completion, there’s still a gap to be filled. The National Center for Education Statistics also shows the overall male graduation rate to be 56.5% at four-year public universities. The goal at the UofM is to continue making strides in order to further close, and eventually eliminate, that gap.
That’s why the University is launching the African American Male Academy — specifically tailored to increase graduation rates for African American males. The creation of the AAMA comes on the heels of President M. David Rudd’s well-received testimony to the House Committee on Education and Labor’s Subcommittee on “The Cost of Non-Completion” last May.
“We’ve worked diligently to identify and develop solutions for the greatest challenges facing our students,” said Rudd. “I’m proud of the progress we have made and hope to continue further with the African American Male Academy. The challenges facing today’s college students are well known, with concerns about college costs, student loan debt and return on investment representing a recurring theme nationally.
“The University of Memphis has an important role to play in addressing these issues and ensuring our students can access affordable, high-quality education that prepares them for success — both in their career and in life.”
The AAMA takes an applied developmental approach. Starting in middle school, the initiative will identify, recruit and induct African American male students into a culture of inclusive excellence. Through this model of early exposure to academic and career preparation, peer and faculty mentors, textbooks and educational supplies and integration into college life, African American male students are set on an early path toward college completion.
“The University of Memphis is uniquely positioned to provide African American male students with a continuity of support that includes evidence-based best practices to enhance student success,” said Dr. Karen Weddle-West. “As vice-president of Student Academic Success, professor of educational psychology at the University of Memphis for 30 years and a native Memphian, I am ecstatic to be a part of the driving force behind this vanguard model of national excellence that will surely transform lives and significantly impact the economy.”
The AAMA will provide students with assistance to overcome potential obstacles to degree completion through well-established and newly developed culturally responsive programs such as Empowered Men of Color, Black Scholars Unlimited, Memphis Advantage Scholarship, Hooks African American Male Initiative, Emerging Leaders, Honors, Academic Coaching for Excellence, I AM A Man: I Teach, Tennessee Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation (TLSAMP engineering), MLK50 Fellows, Peer Power, Center for the Advancement of Youth and Development and Finish Line. These initiatives will serve as the core components of the AAMA for students once enrolled at the UofM, providing support from freshman year through graduation.
Additionally, the AAMA will identify, recruit and induct students into UofM master’s, doctoral and law school programs. This pipeline from middle school through graduate school will help tremendously to fill gaps where students may falter in their education, ultimately helping close the graduation gap for African American males.
The University of Memphis has worked tirelessly to improve African American male graduation rates. The results have been promising.
Since 2001, the six-year graduation rate among this cohort has increased from 19% to 36.5% following the 2019 summer semester. That’s a 4% improvement from the previous year and 12% increase from just two years ago.
The dramatic improvement is undoubtedly in part a result of the initiatives on campus tailored toward African American male academic success. Here are four stories of students who have used those initiatives to better themselves and their opportunities:
Two years ago, Leedon Morgan left behind his education at the University of Havana in Cuba and moved to Memphis. He was recently married and wanted to be with his wife, Jada, a Memphian who moved back to the city after attending Brown University.
The couple met while Jada was studying abroad in Cuba and married in 2017. For Morgan, who was born in Jamaica and grew up in Antigua and Barbuda, the move to Memphis presented several challenges beyond just his initial culture shock. He knew for certain during this transition he wasn’t going to give up on earning a college degree, so he enrolled at the University of Memphis. He was equally intent on getting a job, but visa issues temporarily made that impossible. In those early days of marriage, the couple was solely reliant on Jada’s job as a paralegal to make ends meet.
It was at that time as a UofM freshman in 2017 Morgan discovered the Hooks African American Male Initiative (HAAMI) program, which turned out to be a life-changing event.
“It was kind of rough to pay all the bills with just her job. It was very stressful,” Morgan recalled. “That’s when I found out through HAAMI the University has a food pantry I was able to utilize. That was so good for us, and things really started getting a lot better from there to where we are now.”
In addition to the Tiger Food Pantry in the University Center, Morgan began utilizing a space HAAMI has dedicated to its participants.
“HAAMI provides a room specifically for us with tables, chairs, a couch and a fridge with snacks,” Morgan said. “I’ve used that to the fullest extent. I’m in there on a daily basis studying, doing assignments and whatever else I need to get done.”
Such amenities have been invaluable for someone in Morgan’s position, particularly as he was sharing one car with his wife when he first began classes at the UofM.
“I would be there for several hours some days until my wife finished work,” Morgan said. “She had to drop me off at 8 a.m. or earlier and couldn’t pick me up until she was done for the day, sometimes at 5 p.m. I don’t know what I would’ve done without having somewhere to go and be able to focus on my homework.”
Once Morgan was cleared to work in the U.S., HAAMI was his connection to a job. A friend he’d made in the program set him on the path to becoming an on-campus and online tutor in several areas, including Spanish, macroeconomics and accounting. He also currently holds a job with Jacob’s Well, a nonprofit organization that assists those recovering from addiction.
“HAAMI, even though it was indirectly, supplied me with a job,” Morgan said. “That helped the situation my wife and I were in so much.”
Through two years at the UofM, Morgan has a 3.92 GPA while double majoring in accounting and Spanish. He’s tentatively planning on pursuing investment banking as a career path after college. Even if those plans change, he feels confident about his future in large part because of his experiences with HAAMI.
“The encouragement I got through HAAMI and the connections I made just helped me realize I can accomplish so many things,” Morgan said. “They help us a lot with networking. I was good at making friends before, but HAAMI taught me how to put that to work for me in creating a future career. The possibilities feel endless.”
Kerry Johnson loves his job as an inventory analyst at International Paper. There’s no doubt the University of Memphis graduate deserves the position based on his own merits. He completed his degree in 2017 as a double major in Economics and International Studies with a minor in Spanish.
Yet, just as is the case in many professional settings, Johnson likely wouldn’t have landed this particular opportunity without some key connections. He was able to find the network he needed through his involvement with Empowered Men of Color (EMOC) and the Hooks African American Male Initiative (HAAMI) while at the UofM.
As a freshman, EMOC was the first organization Johnson joined. At that time, he didn’t have any friends at the University much less any valuable resources to boost his academic or professional career. It wouldn’t remain that way, though, as EMOC provided him with confidence and eased concerns as to what he could accomplish.
“EMOC was very important for me because early on I got to see other men and other students like me striving to have success and meet a high standard,” Johnson said. “Seeing other men with a big vision was a big key to my own success and confidence.”
In his first year involved with EMOC, Johnson met Jonathan Moffett, a senior at the time who would go on to work at International Paper. During his own interview process after graduation, Johnson was able to rely on Moffett as a source of advice regarding expectations and everyday life at International Paper.
It’s very possible Johnson wouldn’t have even had that interview opportunity had it not been for his participation in HAAMI, a program he joined midway through his sophomore year.
Through HAAMI, he attended an alumni dinner with Fred Towler — a UofM graduate who is the chief diversity officer and vice president of global talent management at International Paper.
Towler had reached out to HAAMI director Rorie Trammel with an invite to the dinner. Though she had a conflict and couldn’t attend herself, she asked if a HAAMI student could tag along in her place. Towler, who is also on the UofM’s Board of Visitors, embraced the idea, and Johnson happened to be that fortunate student. Attending the dinner and making a connection with Towler were life-changing experiences.
“Being a student, you don’t necessarily think of what it looks like to be an honored alum,” Johnson said. “Really, you’re just trying to get out of school. That was really important for me to be able to look into the future and realize I could be an alum being honored one day. Taking me along for the ride to that was such a great experience, and I’m truly grateful for that connection.”
These experiences are why Johnson, a Memphis native, says he absolutely made the right decision by staying home for college.
“The connections that came along with EMOC and HAAMI were connections that I never would’ve been able to make on my own,” Johnson said. “You just can’t even put a value on how important it is to have those connections. The University of Memphis is a place where, if a student is willing to truly get engaged, this University will work with you to make things happen. I really feel like all the resources I needed to be successful, I got there. I look back and I see a great journey.”
The University of Memphis has been a perfect match for Matthew Moore.
When the St. Louis native was looking into colleges, the opportunity for in-state tuition as a result of being within 250 miles of campus stood out. He also noticed the University offered a biomedical engineering degree. Undecided at the time on whether to pursue pre-med or engineering, that program was an ideal compromise. Then when he toured the campus, the opportunities with Greek life officially sealed the deal. Everything he’d been looking and hoping for, the UofM had it.
But he did have one major problem — he’d eventually have to take at least a few high-level
math courses. When that time came, things did not initially go well. He faced his
first-ever setback as a student during his first attempt at Calculus II, a class he
failed and would have to retake to complete
his degree.
“School had never really been that hard for me coming into college, and even in college it hasn’t been too difficult in most subjects,” Moore said. “But math is a whole different story. Coming to college and failing a class for the first time was definitely a blow to my ego. It’s easy to start questioning whether you even belong here after that.”
For Moore, that’s when the Hooks African American Male Initiative (HAAMI) came to the rescue. As a result of mandatory progress reports with professors, HAAMI supervisors noticed Moore’s math struggles. A meeting with Dr. Gregory Washington, a HAAMI supervisor and professor in the Department of Social Work, was arranged.
“I met with Dr. Washington privately and he reminded me about the different resources available, specifically with math tutors,” Moore said. “It wasn't enough for me to turn around my grade that semester, but when I retook the course the next semester, I passed it.
“If I didn’t have HAAMI, I would’ve been more likely to transfer or change my major. I had that steady improvement because of the guidance and the encouragement I received through HAAMI.”
Being a very active member of Phi Beta Sigma has helped Moore tremendously during his time at the UofM. He’s served as second vice president, treasurer and graphic designer for the fraternity. HAAMI director Rorie Trammel wrote Moore’s letter of recommendation to help him join the fraternity.
“Being in a fraternity, it’s something that has very much helped me grow as a person,” Moore said. “And it’s just one more thing where HAAMI has pitched in to change my college experience for the better.”
Moore is set to be a December 2019 graduate with a degree in biomedical engineering. His future is bright and, in the meantime, he’s gaining experience through a quality engineering internship at Millstone Medical Outsourcing in Olive Branch, Miss. He’s considering quality engineering as his career path while also dabbling in computer programming and keeping his options open. As a result of his time at the UofM and with HAAMI, Moore has the confidence to succeed regardless of what his future holds.
“HAAMI was the first organization on campus that I joined, and I’m so thankful I did,” Moore said. “I have no regrets about coming to Memphis and joining HAAMI. I don’t even know where I’d be without those experiences.”
The First Scholars Program literally helped Ben Brown find his way at the University of Memphis. One of Brown’s first interactions with the program, which is designed to support first-generation college students, involved a staff member walking him to the location of his classes ahead of his first semester.
For a lot of students, that may seem insignificant. However, for a first-generation student, such assistance can go a long way toward alleviating potential concern and anxiety.
“You were able to know where your classes were — the building, the room number, even where the restrooms are,” Brown said. “On the first day, you’re already nervous, your palms are sweaty and you feel like you don’t know what to do, but you won’t have to worry about being late or asking anyone to help you find a class. A lot of times, as a first-generation student, you don’t know you need to go do some of those little things.”
Over his next four years at the UofM, Brown became increasingly involved in First Scholars. He’s served as a mentor for the program, and made connections that helped land him one of his current positions at the UofM — a graduate assistant for the African American Completion Academy. Brown assumed that role after completing his bachelor’s degree in mathematics (BS ’18) with a 3.66 GPA.
“Being the project assistant of the African American Completion Academy, it’s my goal to help support the progress of young African American men,” Brown said. “This is done by providing a set of services. The services provided were intentionally drawn from a menu of institutional activities proven to favorably impact student success and completion.”
In addition to his work with the Completion Academy, Brown is in the process of earning his master’s degree in applied statistics. He’s also involved with the formation of the African American Male Academy (AAMA), which is coming together under the direction of Dr. Karen Weddle-West, vice president for Student Academic Success.
Though African American male graduation rates at the UofM are up nearly 20% over the past two decades, there’s still room for improvement. The AAMA is designed with that in mind.
The academy will help bring together many initiatives already in place at the University, including Empowered Men of Color, Black Scholars, Memphis Advantaged Scholarship, the Hooks Institute’s African American Male Initiative and others.
Brown didn’t have any direct experience with those particular initiatives as a student, but he’s not viewing that as a reason he shouldn’t be involved with AAMA. Instead, his view is quite the opposite.
“To see a plan in place for all these things to come together and help better identify students who need them, that’s definitely something I want to be involved with,” Brown said. “As a student, I didn’t really know much about a lot of the initiatives specifically for African American males. Being able to provide something that can identify those who can benefit from such initiatives, and making them aware, is the main thing that drives my passion for this.”
Brown is also drawn to any opportunity that involves improving the UofM, a place that means an immense amount to him.
“I will forever be grateful for the opportunities provided through the UofM,” Brown said. “It has allowed me to discover my purpose in life and made me a better person.
“I encourage all incoming students to enter the University with an open mind. There are many resources constructed specifically for you. You should take full advantage of as many opportunities as possible.”
