Predominantly Black Institutions Program

" Raising Expectations: A Black Male Initiative"

In 2008, Chicago State University received a 2-year grant under the U.S. Department of Education: Predominantly Black Institutions Program (PBI) to enhance the educational outcomes of African American males. The university views this opportunity as the beginning of increased attention to the dearth representation of African American males in higher education.  From an educational perspective, these funds allow the university to focus additional resources to underrepresented males by helping them to successfully complete a college degree.

The CSU Predominantly Black Institutions Program entitled Raising Expectations: A Black Male Initiative “focuses on educational attainment of African American males by implementing strategies that will enhance the campus climate, communicate messages that stress the importance and relevance of the college experience, and analyze issues and disparities as barriers to enrollment.” The low retention and graduation rates of CSU African American males supports the national data on the need to focus attention on increasing retention and graduation rates..

Key aspects of the project include the creation of an African American Male Resource Center and selection of a visiting research scholar that will allow CSU to join the national conversation about the lower representation of black males in higher education.