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As an undergrad at Coastal Carolina University, Jesse Ford was very involved on campus, from being a tour guide and orientation leader to joining a fraternity and serving in student government. “I did all of the student affairs things that folks say students need in order to be successful,” he said. But he witnessed a much different story among other Black men like him. Even in the years spent pursuing his master’s and doctorate, he noticed this group was less involved on campus compared to other racial and gendered groups. He was somewhat of an anomaly. Ever since those early undergrad days, Ford has been curious about why these patterns occur and how to foster greater involvement and, ultimately, better outcomes for Black men.
Fast forward to last spring and Ford, who is now an assistant professor in the Department of Teacher Education and Higher Education at UNC Greensboro, launched The Collaborative for Black Men Success. While the program is still in its infancy, it embodies the true spirit of the pursuit of equity in higher ed. Earlier this month, I was fortunate enough to speak with Ford about the inspiration behind the Collaborative and his hopes for it in the days and years to come.
Leah Jackson, HigherEdJobs: Can you share a little bit of background about you, your journey, and what drove you to launch the Collaborative for Black Men Success?
Jesse Ford, director, Collaborative for Black Men Success, UNC Greensboro: After getting my Master’s, I moved on to the University of Miami where I spent four years as an assistant director of multicultural student affairs. I was primarily doing work that supports racial and cultural groups, organizations, and cultural trainings, but I had the same interest about where the Black men were on this campus too, so I started doing some programming there specifically for Black men.
Somewhere along the line, I got that inkling that I should do a Ph.D. I went to Florida State and spent four years there studying the experiences of Black people in education — not as directly connected to some of the undergraduate Black men programs — but got to do some graduate programs with Black students at Florida State and loved it.
Throughout my professional experiences into my doctoral work, and then starting as a faculty member, this thread has always been there — what are the experiences of black men? How are they thinking about college? How do we get them more engaged in campus life? And what initiative methods can campuses do to assist Black men?
The Collaborative has been something in the back of my mind that I wanted to do for years. In the past 6-7 months, it’s been something that kind of came to the forefront of something that I can create and start to dream differently about at UNCG. But it’s really been a continuation of these experiences and noticing that I either had friends, students, or colleagues who weren’t necessarily engaged. They were there — maybe not as heavily as other populations — but they’re just not always internally connected to the institution.
Jackson: What are the reasons that you’re seeing for that? Are there specific challenges that you’ve been able to identify that you hope to address with the collaborative?
Ford: I think it’s twofold. I think part of it is that we talk about sense of belonging in higher education as the end-all be-all, and I think it is to a certain degree, but how do we create spaces where students feel like they belong? I don’t know if we always take the time to ask students what’s missing, or what hurdles or barriers can we remove for you? Reflecting back on my own journey, very rarely was I asked what I needed.
We, as a field, are very reactive to problems but haven’t figured out why the problems exist. With my work in particular, I’m seeing Black boys and Black men who may feel like they belong but don’t necessarily connect that belonging to benefits beyond just being on campus.
We need to figure out not only how to make space so students feel like they belong, but on the other side of that, what benefits exist for them beyond this space? So, my entire overarching mission for the Collaborative is to build and construct spaces where students not only feel like they belong but are also connected to environments and future opportunities.
Sometimes, it’s connecting them with career opportunities or career development, or maybe we’re just making sure that they feel supported and seen on campus. I know every student isn’t going to be the SGA president, be a tour guide, or be interested in fraternity life. But what tools are we equipping them with to make sure that each Black man is successful beyond college?
Jackson: Please tell us about the Black Men Leadership course that you taught this past fall. How did it go, and are there strategies you can share that other institutions might implement?
Ford: This course actually is something I taught as a doctoral student. The original course came from Florida State, but I adapted it to UNCG specifically.
So, we taught the course at UNCG for the first time last semester. We talked about some of the issues and nuances around leadership, which is the focal point of the class, but we also talked about things that may not often come up in classrooms as well, such as how to write a check — some of those basic nuances that we think that everyone should know, and we realize very quickly that they don’t. So, the pilot course had great enrollment, students, and dialogue. I could tell that students were engaged in a way that I don’t necessarily see all the time. I also taught the course with a doctoral student, and I think we created a space where there was definitely learning and development, but at the same time, a space where students could grow and learn about the other components of the Collaborative.
A lot of the men who took the course are going to become part of our advisory board, which will help us think through some of the programming that we want to do.
We plan on doing a monthly dialogue series. The goal is to be a holistic space for K-12 students, undergraduate, and graduate students to all feel interconnected within the community.
We are trying to home in on five particular areas: professional development, leadership, mentoring, student success, and community outreach. We want to make sure that we are providing not only the experiences that students need to be successful but also ones that may lead to future job opportunities.
I think colleges and universities don’t talk often enough about what Black men are doing after they graduate — because they graduate, and they move on. So technically we’re done, but we’re not done because they may not have opportunities beyond college. They may or may not have a job lined up. So how do we ensure that they’re successful beyond just walking across the stage? That’s where a lot of this sits for me.
Jackson: In regard to the dialogue series, are there specific topics that you’re looking at covering that you can share?
Ford: We’ll focus on academics first. How do you study? How do you read for a course? How are you preparing yourself to be successful in college? Then, some of the financial pieces. How do we think about money, money management, writing checks? How do we save for the future? How do we essentially make a living? Then, professional development. How do you prepare a resume and prepare for interviews? How do you do the basic “on the ground” stuff around preparing for a career after college? Then, on the other side of that, we have conversations about what it means to explore your Blackness. What is masculinity like (acknowledging that those two identities are interconnected but also very different for individuals)? All that said, hopefully, it will prepare you for the future through academics and career preparation, but at the same time, talk about some of those nuances of what it means to be Black, to be a man or male or male-identifying, and then on the other side of that, how do we prepare you for spaces beyond this institution?
Jackson: Are the topics that you’ve identified, like the career prep and writing a check, based on your research and what you saw throughout your education journey of where the challenges were? Or is that based on any surveys you’ve done? In other words, how are you identifying where those challenges are?
Ford: Both actually. A lot of my research on Black men looks at how they experience college through racialized stress and racism. The concept of racial battle fatigue is probably where most of my work sits and so understanding how race, racism, and racial microaggressions impact how [Black men] see and experience college.
It’s twofold in a sense that that’s primarily what I’m looking at and exploring. And so, I see often in the findings of my work that they’re experiencing these harsh realities, but there’s no outlet to talk about how racialized stress, racism, or racial battle fatigue are impacting their experience.
It’s just something they kind of hold in and they sit with, and that is data across not only my undergraduate populations but also the data that I’ve collected and done specifically on Black men graduate students too.
Jackson: Does the collaborative just focus on students? Or does it also focus on staff and faculty?
Ford: We’re not there yet, but that’s the goal. We’re going to focus on students, but ideally, we’ll also have deliverables that talk specifically to staff, faculty, and parents, because I think those three populations are vastly different and all need different things.
I think parents — and this is my own internal thinking, so I will own this – we drop you off at college, and you should be able to figure this out. Well, most of traditional college-age Black men haven’t been gone from home for more than three or four days. Are they supposed to just supposed to figure it out?
For faculty, I hope to share guidance on how you teach — or provide structure and support for — Black men. For staff, we need to think about how we are engaging and supporting them as they’re trying to navigate college. So, ideally, yes, the goal is not only to support students but eventually provide resources and future directions for faculty, staff, and parents.
Jackson: You’re doing this work at your institution, but for somebody across the country who is reading this piece, what advice do you have for institutions or various faculty and staff who really do care about Black men and want to serve that group better? Where do they start?
Ford: I think there’s something about caring, right? It’s small, but it’s big. I think that’s what I’ve learned from teaching the class this past fall.
These men come to class, and there’s nobody sitting in the back of the room. We’re all sitting up front, reconfiguring tables and sitting in a circle, and we’re having real conversations about what they’re reading and what they’re thinking about. Then they walk [up to you and be like, “I’ve never thought about this this way” or “I had this situation, but I knew I couldn’t miss your class because I knew that you would follow up and care about me not being here.” One of the Black men in the course hugged me after class one day, it was a humbling and heartfelt moment.
I think that’s small, but it’s big. When you show me that you care, it impacts how I think about everything else. I think that is the piece that may be missing or that we don’t speak upon enough. Folks must show that they care, especially for a population — going back to that childhood socialization piece — that may not have always seen that — not all, but some. I think they need to know that we care, that we’re engaged, that we want them to do well. And it’s extra work. I do not want to dance around that. It’s extra work for faculty, extra work for staff, and in some cases, extra work for their peers. It is. But simply caring, I think shifts this entire conversation from “Where are they?” to “How do we make sure that they have the things they need so they can continue to be here?”
Jackson: I agree — the caring is a big piece, and I love the way you phrased that about being “small but big.” Are there any other actionable steps you would recommend to someone who’s looking to make a difference in this area?
Ford: The most important factor is demonstrating genuine and thoughtful care. Secondly, it’s essential to recognize that Black boys and Black men are not a monolithic group-they are individuals with unique experiences, perspectives, and needs. Lastly, rather than making assumptions, we should prioritize asking them directly. As a practitioner, I have found value in simply walking around campus and engaging students by asking, “If I were to do this, would you attend?” While asking doesn’t guarantee participation, it brings us closer to understanding what they truly need and value.
