As you navigate the college experience, UofL has your back. You’re never alone in the Cardinal Community. Whether your needs are related to academic success, personal wellness, general well-being or recreational activities, there are resources available to enhance your overall student experience and to ensure a thriving future. Check out these 10 helpful campus websites:

1. ��–��UofL hosts over 400 student organizations that cover a wide variety of student interests. These groups provide a wonderful opportunity to become involved in campus life and to connect with other students on campus who enjoy some of the same things you do. Find the list of contacts on the��.��
2. –The Student Recreation Center (SRC) offers the latest fitness facilities and equipment, complete with basketball and racquetball courts. Campus Recreation also offers activities ranging from group fitness classes to competitive intramural sports to sport clubs.
3. ��–��The Cultural Center supports and offers programs that acknowledge and reflect the experiences of underrepresented populations. It also provides educational opportunities for all members of the campus community to examine their individual and group experiences within a culturally diverse society.
4. ��–��The counseling center offers services such as individual or group counseling, workshops, couples therapy, urgent consultations and psychiatric referrals. Some of the services are covered by student fees and do not require additional payment. The website also provides a list of��
5. ��–��The Cardinal Station and Health Sciences Center (HSC) Campus Health Services (CHS) offices provide basic primary care including physical exams, immunizations, allergy shots, travel medicine, flu and COVID-19 shots, sexual health and contraception and more. CHS has an insurance advocate who assists students enrolled in the UofL student health insurance program.
6. ��–�����Ǵڳ�’s����provides community-building socials with other first-gen students, workshops and individual coaching. Participants can earn completion grants toward their UofL bill.����matches first-generation, first-year students with faculty and staff for individual mentoring in the��.��
7. ��–��The University Writing Center offers one-on-one or group consultations to both undergraduate and graduate students with a trained writing consultant. The center also provides a range of online resources.
8. ��–��This is where many students can find out about outside-the-classroom learning opportunities, whether they are work-related (internships, co-ops) or research-focused. The Center for Engaged Learning (CEL) is an on-campus resource for UofL, the community and industry partners that helps Cardinals better prepare for academic and success.
9. ��–��What’s going on today? You’ll find happenings from Belknap to HSC listed on the official UofL Event Calendar.
10. ��–��The ITS HelpDesk provides technology support to the Cardinal community. The ITS website features a Knowledge Base, Service Catalog and FAQ section with answers to questions like “What software is free for enrolled students?” and “What digital storage options are available?”

Several of these resources are sanctioned by UofL’s or the . The Office of Student Involvement is a hub for cultural, social and recreational programs, while the Student Success Center provides resources related to advising, academics, financial well-being and belonging.

According to the UofL Student Success Center, whether a student is in need of a laptop, exploring a new major, facing a financial barrier or simply looking for a peer who’s been there before, the SSC is the place to turn.

We urge you to explore the wide array of programs and activities at UofL. We’ll be here every step of the way!

Strayhorn is a professor of education and psychology, director of the Center for the Study of HBCUs and principal investigator of��The Belonging Lab��at Virginia Union University. He also serves as Diversity Scholar-in-Residence at Harrisburg Area Community College. As president and CEO of , a minority-owned business, Strayhorn partners with hundreds of colleges, universities, corporations and agencies each year to enhance culture, build inclusive environments and boost belonging.

UofL News caught up with Strayhorn to talk about his work, along with his thoughts around Juneteenth, the day commemorating��the delayed emancipation of enslaved people in the United States on June 19, 1865.

UofL News:��How has our understanding of Juneteenth shifted the past few years?

Strayhorn: The recognition of Juneteenth as a federal holiday is important because we give time to those things that matter. It creates a collective pause to think and reflect, certainly acknowledging the progress we’ve made as well as raise up some of the continuing challenges that we face so that we can together envision a future that’s brighter and more equal and more just. It commemorates our freedom and our ever-evolving quest toward racial justice in this country.

UofL News: It’s been said Juneteenth hopes to inspire change through vision, voice and vote. How do you see activism and engagement bringing change?

Strayhorn: We know that we have some social miseries and nightmares that disproportionately impact communities of color. Right now, with, anti-LGBTQI+ policies, state sponsored violence against Black and Brown communities, police brutality, shameful public killings of African American men and women and trans people, and people who live at the intersection of all these identities, we need to create more change. Juneteenth provides an opportunity to reflect on our progress, being honest about our current status, and then finding appropriate, effective but nonviolent ways to champion the cause of racial justice.

UofL News: In our society today, where do you see a welcome and positive intersection of diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging?

Strayhorn: We need more of what we know works well in fostering conditions for racial justice, for collective healing, for sense of belonging. That inclusive environment happens at culturally diverse institutions like Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Black museums and cultural centers, and Black churches, places which have for a long time been safe havens. This is not just for Black students, but for disenfranchised white students, for first generation students, for low-income students, for international students.

In 2020, during Black Lives Matter, when the world was on fire, the people with water to help tame the flame weren’t court appointed, certified firefighters. It was the people who had fire in their belly and could speak passionately about George Floyd’s killing. It was the millennial, the Gen-Zer, who could take the mic at the rally and help us realize, wow, the future is looking pretty bright because we have some people who are reaching across the aisle and across racial divides and saying, ‘Not on my watch.’

UofL News: How can universities and students at universities best exhibit leadership in commemorating Juneteenth?

Strayhorn: What we need to bring these lessons to life are committed, courageous, socially conscious faculty, students and leaders who can champion a cause and create change.

Everybody wants to belong and it’s what we share in common because we’re human. The message of Eric Garner, George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and so many others is this implication that some people don’t belong here, and that some people’s lives don’t matter. I am profoundly committed on a personal, professional and even a spiritual and metaphysical level to fight that message and to say that we all belong here.

We’re all worthy. We are enough and never too much, but we only get there if we get there together.

Learn more and register for one of the ��sponsored by the Office of the President, Office of Institutional Equity, College of Business and the Black Faculty and Staff Association (BFSA). Learn more on the .��

United around this year’s theme of ‘Power and Policy’, organizers hope to inspire change through vision, voice and vote.

“Juneteenth is a prime example of how policy change can shift power from the oppressor to the oppressed,” said Riece Hamilton, president of the UofL Black Faculty/Staff Association. “We want the campus and community to recognize the force we have when we collectively come together for the good of all. We understand that fighting against injustice for any group of people benefits all groups of people.”

The week of events leading up to Juneteenth will kick-off with a lecture by author, activist, educator and historian who will deliver the keynote titled, “Free at Last?”

As chairperson of the U.S. Civil Rights Commission, Berry led the charge for equal rights and liberties of all Americans during four U.S. presidential administrations. She also served as assistant secretary for education in the U.S. Department of Health, ����ֱ�� and Welfare.

Berry is a founder of the monumental Free South Africa Movement (FSAM), and received the Nelson Mandela award from the South African Government for her role in organizing the FSAM, raising global awareness of South African injustice that helped to end over 40 years of apartheid.

A trailblazer for women and African Americans, she became the first woman to lead a major research university as chancellor of the University of Colorado at Boulder. She now teaches the history of American law and social policy as the Geraldine R. Segal Professor of American Social Thought at the University of Pennsylvania.

Visit the����to learn more and register for the following events:

Keynote: Mary Frances Berry
June 13, noon;
*streaming available

A panel discussion focused on Juneteenth, cash bail, and racial justice work.
June 14, noon;
*streaming available

Celebratory luncheon and Black business owners vendor fair
June 16, 11:30 a.m.; near��

A tour around campus designed to highlight historical points around UofL relative to Blacks/African Americans
June 17, noon;

Step into the narrative and take a journey through the African American experience; free admission.
June 18, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.;

at Burnett Avenue Church
Join us for a virtual worship service to give thanks for how far we have come and the blessings in store for the future.
June 19, 11 a.m.; virtual event��

At the Crossroads: A History of Black Health in Louisville
This exhibit explores the establishment of health care facilities by and for Black Louisvillians in the late 19th and 20th centuries.
On display now; Ekstrom Library

The Black Faculty/Staff Association along with the Commission on Diversity and Racial Equity (CODRE), Commonwealth Credit Union, Cultural Center, Office of Community Engagement, Office of Diversity and Equity, Office of the President, UofL Standing Up for Racial Justice (UofL SURJ) and various university sponsors are presenters of the second annual Juneteenth week of ‘Power and Policy’.

“This week should be a reminder that the people hold the power now and forever; it is what we do with it that matters,” Hamilton said.

The Black Male Initiative formally began at UofL in 2011 as the African American Male Initiative. In its 10 years, the student success program’s objectives haven’t wavered – increase the retention, graduation, engagement and overall success of Black males.

The program has done this in a number of ways; for example offering academic coaching, community service and leadership workshops. However, perhaps the most effective initiative is the BMI’s laser-sharp focus on creating connections among peers.

Those connections have become ever more critical now in a largely virtual environment, and Brandyn Bailey, assistant director at the Cultural Center and adviser of the BMI, touts the work the team has done to ensure programs and discussions on topics like mental health continue. One such initiative that is ready to launch, for example, is a new video series on YouTube called Wednesday Wisdom. The idea is to increase access to mentors – both on and off campus – virtually, and cover topics like financial literacy, healthy relationships and internships.

Bailey has overseen the BMI since October 2018 after a stint at the Muhammad Ali Institute. Prior to that, he was part of a program called the Campaign for Black Male Achievement and was selected from a national pool to be a part of the inaugural Building Beloved Community Leadership Fellowship. He has taken much of what he learned from that program to create his vision for the Black Male Initiative into its second decade.

“I want to make Black male achievement at UofL the expectation and not the exception and doing so by building out an infrastructure that supports Black male students who are not athletes or are not on scholarship,” he said. “Those are the students most affected by adverse circumstances outside of the classroom.”

Such circumstances can make it hard to even get into UofL, let alone get a degree. Bailey said a number of students he works with have to work to make ends meet, and that’s when balancing classes and grades becomes a particular challenge.

To navigate this challenge, he has recruited staff and faculty across campus who identify as Black males and who represent a variety of professional fields to be mentors.

“I want to create a large enough network so if a student tells me he wants to be a social worker, I can connect him with someone on campus who looks like him and who has social worker experience so they can show what that profession looks like on a daily basis,” Bailey said. “The goal is for them to build relationships with those individuals, and myself, so they have multiple people as accountability partners and so their idea of success no longer remains in this esoteric space, but is something that is achievable.”

Bailey pulls his motivation and this strategy from his personal experience growing up in Louisville and attending Noe Middle School, where he witnessed fights “literally every day and a lot of students living far below poverty levels.”

“All of this stuff was happening, these traumatic pieces that you take in at 11 or 12 years old, and you’re still expected to pass a math test in the middle of the afternoon. My priority is making sure our students have folks around them to not only make sense of all of their experiences but also helping them get through,” Bailey said. “We have to take this hands-on approach because these students might not have people in their lives who reflect the future that they want to have.”

The BMI uses a platform called Cardsmart to match students to specific advisors or academic coaches who work with students based on an identifying marker. Bailey said there is a lot of growth opportunity with this networking program. At the beginning of the 2020-21 school year, there were about 980 students who identified as a Black male. A few are distance or nontraditional students, others are student-athletes or scholarship awardees, and 100 or so are Metropolitan College students employed by UPS.

“That leaves about 400 or 500 students I’m trying to get to. The others are going to be OK. I want to get to them, but they have resources, or at least not as many barriers,” Bailey said.

Bailey has also put into place a BMI Wise Council, which gives students even more networking opportunities.

“I believe the council will be a difference maker. In theory, if there are more people to choose from for mentorship or coaching, then we’ll be able to see more students a year,” he said. “We have to accept that a vast majority of education in the scope of higher education happens independently of the classroom. That’s where the rubber meets the road. In that scope, I want to provide healthy and artistic platforms for our students to build community and self-esteem with that ultimate goal of graduating everybody.”

It’s hard not to see some progress here. According to a recent report card from the University of Southern California’s Race and Equity Center,. Scores were based on factors like the percentage of Black undergraduates and the six-year graduation rate for Black students.

Still, much work remains. In 2018, UofL’s six-year graduation rate for Black students was about 47%, compared to the school’s overall graduation rate of 53.2%. Boosting these rates is a priority of President Neeli Bendapudi, and the Black Male Initiative has been .����

Bailey is up to the challenge and is extremely optimistic about the program’s future.

“We have a foundation now and it’s time to grow it and scale it,” he said. “We also want to sustain it to make sure sophomores and juniors in high school see UofL where they can come and foster a path to success, so they know there are folks here to support you.”

In 1990, the voters of Arizona rejected a proposal to create a paid holiday for MLK Day. This happened while the University of Louisville Football team, under the lead of Coach Howard Schnellenberger, was slated to play in the Sunkist Fiesta Bowl in Tempe, Arizona, on Jan. 1, 1991, versus Alabama.

Their original opponent was the University of Virginia, but that university��declined the bid in the wake of Arizona’s controversial vote.

UofL accepted the bid, a move one Louisville civil rights leader called “morally regrettable,” according to the book “The University of Louisville,” by Dwayne D. Cox and William J. Morison.

Still, UofL trustee chair Woodford Porter Sr. urged acceptance, as did the football team’s players, who voted unanimously to play.

Those players wore a patch during the game that read,” The Dream Lives On,” as well as a helmet decal representing the university’s cultural diversity. (Alabama players wore black armbands with “MLK” on them).

Notably, the university stood to gain as much as $2.5 million for its partic

ipation, and the bowl’s sponsors pledged an additional $200,000 for minority student scholarship at the participating schools.

UofL President Donald C. Swain proposed using the bowl revenue to strengthen UofL programs benefiting minority students, appointing a committee to explore ways in which to do so. A Martin Luther King Endowment Fund was subsequently created.

Swain also promised to find funds to create a campus center dedicated to cultural diversity and to enhance the College of Arts & Sciences’ Pan-African Studies Department. The multicultural center opened in 1991 with funds resulting from discussions which arose��out of the Fiesta Bowl controversy.

Arizona voters later established MLK Day as a paid holiday in 1992. UofL also got the bowl win, 34-7.

At the heart of the UofL Cultural Center’s��Conocimiento��is cultural resilience,��meaning skills gained from life experiences often informed by one’s own background and traditions.��The center will host this cultural resilience training during the spring semester, its fifth time doing so, and its second year partnering with JB Speed School.��

“The goal is for students to raise their consciousness of themselves and their relationship to society,” said Sarah Nuñez, associate director of the Cultural Center.

Nuñez and Marcos Morales, former UofL student and current program coordinator at the Cultural Center, adapted��Conocimiento��for a university setting from E3: ����ֱ��, Excellence, and Equity, an organization that identifies five 21st century global skills needed by each person: Innovation, critical analysis, cross-cultural communication, teamwork and adaptability.

“We believe we get [those skills] from lived experiences we have every single day and even growing up,” Nuñez said. “We all have these unique gifts from the lived experiences.”

Both Nuñez and Morales see myriad benefits for those who participate, especially a deeper understanding of and respect for themselves.

“Students get a chance to pause and look at their garden … and see the fruits that are waiting to be picked right there,” Morales said. “You being able to function with your friends, and then go and interpret for your mom at the doctor’s, that’s cross-cultural communication.”

Morales, who participated in the training during his senior year, personally attests to the value of��Conocimiento.

“It was the very first time I brought my latinidad (various��characteristics shared by Latin American individuals) into an educational space,” he said. “I think [Conocimiento] impacts students here in that they get to become more proud of their latinidad in higher ed, and that’s a big role of our office as a whole.”

Nuñez adds that��Conocimiento��prepares students for their time at UofL, especially as student leaders.

“The stronger you are within yourself, the more that you have the ability to represent, to stand for and with other groups … and to build up whatever the organization’s goal or mission is,” said Nuñez. “So, from a student leadership perspective, I think a training like this gives them skills to step into leadership roles.”

Going forward, Nuñez and Morales would like to expand Conocimiento while still maintaining its personal element.

“There’s a lot that happens when people come together and talk; a lot comes forward,” said Nuñez. “Even more comes forward when they’re given a space to talk, and to deep dive, and to build connections with one another.”

Last year’s training included 45 participants. Participation levels have increased in each of the four years the training has been held. Nuñez expects that trajectory to continue, as the percentage of Latino students in the area is expected to grow by 53% through 2023.

Martin, a Michigan native, has more than 20 years of experience in higher education and student affairs, having served as the coordinator for Leadership and Service Learning at Wayne State University, the assistant dean of Students of Community Engagement and Involvement at Purdue University and most recently as the coordinator for Diversity and Inclusion at the Oakland University William Beaumont School of Medicine. She started at UofL in late February.

During her career, Martin has continually demonstrated her commitment to diversity, inclusion and social justice issues. She has previously served on both university-wide and departmental diversity councils to address issues of disparity and bias in the recruitment and hiring of faculty and students of color. Most recently, her dissertation, “Nevertheless They Persisted: Exploring Sense of Belonging Among Black Female Doctoral Graduates,” was nominated for Dissertation of the Year at Oakland University. We had the chance to talk to Martin about her experience and her plans for the UofL Cultural Center.��

UofL News: What brought you to UofL?

Martin: The great opportunity to serve as the Director of the Cultural Center. It is the perfect way for me to meld my passion��– helping under-represented students thrive in college��– and my career.

UofL News: What are your plans for the Cultural Center?

Martin: Right now I am just getting my bearings. But my long-term goals for the center include making it one of the best cultural centers in the region in terms of services and programs we can offer under-represented students.

UofL News: What challenges does the Center face?

Martin:��Money. Budgets have been cut; resources are scarce. We are surviving, but I want us to be thriving.

UofL News: What issues should be top of mind at the university? What positives are you seeing?

Martin: Diversity is a thread that I have seen woven throughout everything since my tenure at UofL; it is a priority for the president. It is stated on the website that UofL will be “ubiquitously recognized as a great place to learn, a great place to work and a great place in which to invest because we will celebrate diversity, foster equity and strive for inclusion.” In order to do this, the university needs to invest in the center and initiatives that foster this goal. I think the strategic planning that is going on right now is a step in the right direction.

UofL News: What is your educational background?

Martin: Bachelor’s degree from the University of Michigan, Master of Business Administration from Clark Atlanta University and a Doctor of Philosophy in ����ֱ��al Leadership from Oakland University in Rochester, Michigan.

UofL News: Any personal interests? Family? Pets? Hobbies?��

Martin: I have a main coon cat named Toonces (it’s an old Saturday Night Live skit). I love live music, good food and hanging out with good friends. Looking forward to my first Derby experience.

Individuals who are part of the “A Force for Good” campaign were chosen via a nomination process and have been shown to “demonstrate their service to others and commitment to the community,” according to a press release.

The Community Foundation of Louisville describes Nuñez as someone who is “committed to making higher education a more inclusive environment where students can celebrate their unique identities.”

At UofL, Nuñez – a Bogota, Colombia, native��– works to support the needs of Latino students by managing scholarship funds and committees, providing culturally relevant programming, coaching and mentoring Latino students and communicating regularly with community partners.

“We do a lot of work around community engagement for Latino students and their families, sometimes before they’re even students here,” Nuñez said. “I do a lot of bridge building. It is not easy work, but it provides a better service for our students and their families, which is important.”

Nuñez adds that this work is even more important now as Hispanic/Latino enrollment numbers continue to increase at UofL. The percentage of UofL students enrolled for the fall 2015 semester who identify as Hispanic/Latino was 4.03 percent in 2015. That number rose to 4.51 percent in 2016 and 4.88 percent in 2017. Retention rates for this demographic have increased from 75.2 percent (fall 2014 to fall 2015) to 80.2 percent (fall 2016 to fall 2017).

“We have close to 800 undergraduate students who are Latino. Of those, we offer a lot of cultural coaching. We also offer a Latino peer mentor program and we pair all incoming and transfer students with a peer mentor to help them with general questions and just connect them,” Nuñez said.

Nuñez’s has an extensive list of priorities – shifting the culture, collaborating, programming, scholarship, raising money, investing. She says all of the work is critical.

“We do real, intentional, hard work every single day to bring the needs of our students to the surface. Now is the time more than ever with the Latino populations growing as fast as they are in this area,” Nuñez said. “It behooves us to do everything we can to make sure their needs are met, they have access to college and they’re successful in college.”

Nuñez adds that her work at UofL is just getting started.

“I am proud of what we’ve built so far, but we will continue to build on those successes,” she said. “When I look to the future, I have a lot of ideas.”

In addition to her work at UofL, Nuñez also helps foster community engagement through the Louisville Latino ����ֱ�� Outreach Project, a team serving the education needs of Latino students. A vocal advocate for the Latino community and all people of color, she co-directs the Louisville Latino Oral History Project, and is a member of Mijente.

The billboard campaign launched March 19, and will remain on display until late April. Some of its locations include Frankfort Avenue, Spaghetti Junction and throughout West Louisville. More information about the campaign and the honorees is .��

The full list of billboard honorees:

• Karina Barillas, executive director of La Casita Center
• Raymond and Kim Burse, philanthropists supporting the Psi Boulé Fund and the Community Foundation’s African American Legacy Fund
• Jocelyn Church and Corey Nelson, directors of Grace Kids! A Church for Children
• Arthur Cox, executive director of St. George’s Scholar Institute
• Bert and Jane Emke, philanthropists supporting the National Council of Jewish Women’s (NCJW) Light the Way Fund and the Family Drug Treatment Court
• Jackie Floyd, community volunteer in the Russell neighborhood
• Mahogany Mayfield, co-founder of GLOW, Girls League of the West
• Andrew Noland, philanthropic supporter of various initiatives that remove barriers to education
• Sarah Nuñez, assistant director of the University of Louisville Cultural Center
• Moshe Ohayon, founder of ����ֱ��al Justice
• Mona Page, founder and executive director of Rhonda’s Another Chance Inc.
• Angela Renfro, executive director and founder of the Kristy Love Foundation
• Dr. Georgia Turner, director 2NOT1: Fatherhood & Families Inc.

The week kicks off Monday, Jan. 15, with the MLK Day of Service.��Legislation was signed in 1983 creating a federal holiday marking the birthday of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. In 1994, Congress passed the King Holiday and Service Act, designating the MLK Jr. federal holiday as a national day of service. It is the only federal holiday observed as a national day of service. The UofL community will participate in the “day on, not a day off” event Monday at various sites throughout the city. Students will meet at 8:30 a.m. in Strickler Hall. This event is sponsored by the Engage, Lead, Serve Board.

The African American Theatre Program’s annual MLK Celebration is at 1 p.m. Jan. 15, with a staged reading of “Free Lunch,”a piece written by Troy Johnson. More information is .��

The Louisville Bus Civil Rights Tour is Jan. 16, with a 12:10 p.m. departure from the Cultural Center.��The City of Louisville was an active site during the Civil Rights Movement.��This tour explores how the 20th-century civil rights movement changed lives at the South’s northern border for African Americans and also for whites and, now, for the new immigrants who are bringing greater cultural diversity in the 21st century. Registration for the free tour can be done online.��

On Wednesday, Jan. 17, a film screening of “American Experience: Freedom Riders,” will be shown at 5:30 p.m. in Chao Auditorium of Ekstrom Library.��In 1961, segregation seemed to have an overwhelming grip on American society. That is, until an integrated band of college students – many of whom were the first in their families to attend a university – decided, en masse, to risk everything and buy a ticket on a Greyhound bus bound for the Deep South. They called themselves the Freedom Riders and this movie tells their story.��

For the full list of MLK Week events, .��

McShan, who is the programming director and oversees the African American Male Initiative, has added a bevy of signature programs to the Cultural Center’s schedule, including the Civil Rights Bus Tour, performing arts night during Black History Month, diversity dialogue series and the Fall Fest Multicultural Expo.

“Signature programming was always my objective because it helps us serve a dual responsibility – to serve as an inclusive body on campus and to increase student success, retention and graduation rates,” McShan said. “Personally, I want to increase engagement on campus. There are silos here and that comes with higher education, but building networks and meeting people make a huge difference and I want to help our students learn how to do that.”

One of his mentors, Tierney Bates, UofL’s former Cultural Center director who is now the assistant vice chancellor for Student Affairs at North Carolina Central University, helped him network here once he arrived on campus. In fact, McShan said Bates is the reason he ended up at UofL to work toward his master’s degree. While he was an undergraduate student at LSU, McShan met Bates at a conference and the two hit it off.

“I saw a young man who needed the right environment to hone his skills and develop him into a rock star. During my first phone conversation with Dom I had a gut feeling that this guy is the right person for the Cultural Center and the right person students would be attracted to work with,” Bates said. “Dom is very engaging and understands student development theory, understands the needs of underrepresented students, can speak to programming impact, and has the ability to walk through many doors on a personal and professional level in relating to people.”

Once he settled in at the Cultural Center, McShan’s first line of business was to benchmark programs that were successful at other institutions, including LSU. He also leveraged his networking skills to take new programs to the next level; for example, the Anne Braden Institute pitched in resources for the successful Civil Rights Bus Tour, and the Native American Student Organization helped facilitate the first signature Native American heritage event organized by the Cultural Center last year.

“The goal is to expand and cover more identity groups, but everything comes down to resources, budget and student interest and participation. We need student buy-in. Last year, we had that with the Native American event, which brought in different nations with different traditions and it was a big deal and very successful,” McShan said. “We were able to do that because of our connections with the student organization.”

The event was not held again during the fall semester, but he hopes to bring it back next year. Transitions in student leadership of RSOs pose a challenge with programming, he admits.

“I want to make sure smaller groups are represented,” McShan said. “With manpower and financial resources, these goals have been challenging so we have to think about other ways to come together and support each other. Collaboration is a big goal of mine; I want to foster more collaboration among multicultural student organizations.”

Collaboration tends to yield impact, which is what motivates McShan.

“When I organize an event and I am personally impacted, or I hear folks saying ‘Wow, I didn’t know that’ – that is what drives me to do this work,” he said. “That Native American Heritage Event is a great example. I never knew there were different traditions within different tribes. On my own journey, I am still learning so much.”

African American Male Initiative

During the summer 2017, McShan’s roles increased to include overseeing the AAMI, which was created in 2011 with a specific objective of “increasing retention, persistence, graduation, engagement and overall success of African American males by addressing various scholastic and social challenges through academic engagement, mentoring, peer connection and student involvement.”

The “mentoring” part comes naturally for McShan, who is pursuing a master’s of education degree in counseling and personnel services with a concentration on college student personnel. The subject matter has taught him how to take a holistic and institutional approach to his AAMI work.

“The data shows that these students’ issues aren’t always about academic performance. A student could have a strong GPA and SAT score, but they still are at risk for dropping out or not graduating. We have to look at what else is going on – are there personal problems, financial problems, are they having a hard time getting through processes like FAFSA,” he said. “A lot of these students just don’t have guidance. They’re first generation students and sometimes they’re going through very significant things.”

Historically, African American male college completion rates are lowest among both sexes and all racial/ethnic groups in the U.S. To help with retention and success rates, the AAMI program includes a dedicated advisor who has a high-level view of the student’s grades and who helps the student get connected with the necessary campus resources.

“Being a first generation kid himself and navigating his higher education experience is part of the reason I wanted him to work for me,” Bates said about McShan. “Those who can share similar experiences with our students and work with them are the ones who get the most out of our students, become role models, parental figures and more.”

In April, McShan will lead a group of at least 10 students to a Students of Color Conference in Clemson. Some of them will even have the opportunity to speak. The Cultural Center is planning fundraisers to offset their costs, including an awards banquet and gala in February. Aside from this trip, McShan’s other major goal is fundraising for year-round programming.

“The New Year will be spent trying to figure out how to expand what we’re doing, but with reduced resources,” he said. “I don’t want to just expand, though. I want to ensure our programs are sustainable and we have a foundation that, even when I leave, they’ll be in place.”

That’s not to say he’s leaving anytime soon, however.

“I eventually want to get back to Texas, which is much closer to home. But for now I plan on staying here. I have to see these initiatives through,” McShan said.

Bates has big expectations for McShan, calling him the “next big talent to work in higher education.”

“He will be a VP or top faculty one day at an institution or my chief of staff,” he said. “Dom McShan is a gem and the University of Louisville better do all it can to keep him.”