Men and Masculinities: Theoretical Foundations and Promising Practices for Supporting College Men\ s Development

There continues to be much concern about the retention and persistent of men in college, particularly Black, Latinx, and Native American men. In addition, queer and trans* men also have found institutions to be problematic spaces. For those who do persist, we know that men are overrepresented in student conduct cases and engage in risky behaviors around alcohol, drug use, and sexual relationships. Additionally, we know that college men have historically avoided engaging in help-seeking behaviors for their academic and personal success. This book addresses the ways that theory can be put into practice for powerful, transformative learning to support college men and their development.This book synthesizes the research of the past three decades on college men to inform college student educators on the developmental needs of college men and illuminates how young men are socialized prior to their arrival to campus, but perhaps more importantly, how the collegiate environment becomes a training ground for the socialization of masculinities by students, their peers, and their environments.Beyond that, it sets out how practitioners can help young men understand why and how they have been socialized around their gender identity, but also what their gender identity and sense of masculinity means for their future selves. The book highlights programs and services designed to have college men engage with and dialogue around issues of hegemonic, toxic, or unhealthy aspects of masculinity. These promising practices can offer college men opportunities to understand their power, privilege, and identity in ways that can be affirming and healthier, leading to more life-giving chances. This is all the more important in the context of an ever-evolving society where traditionally held norms and expectations around gender--particularly masculinities--are shifting. This book equips student affairs staff, faculty, and administrators to better support college men’s development. It offers readers insights, ideas, and models for adapting and developing programs, services, and initiatives that may meaningfully meet the needs of specific student populations, while recognizing that there is no “one-size-fits-all” approach to this work.

Daniel Tillapaugh, PhD, is assistant professor and chair in the Department of Counselor Education at California Lutheran University, where he primarily teaches in the Counseling and College Student Personnel Program. A graduate of the University of San Diego with a PhD in leadership studies, the University of Maryland with a MEd in counseling and personnel services, and Ithaca College with a MusB in music with an outside field of sociology, he worked as a student affairs administrator for 10 years before becoming a full-time faculty member. His research interests include intersectionality and student development in higher education, college men and masculinities, and college student leadership development and education. From 2012 to 2016, he served as the chair for the Coalition on Men and Masculinities, an entity group of ACPA–College Student Educators International, which focuses on the dissemination of research and practice on college men and mascu­linities. He has been recognized by ACPA as an Emerging Scholar Designee from 2016 to 2018 for his research on college student development.

Brian L. McGowan is an Associate Professor of Education and Associate Director of the Center for Teaching, Research, and Learning at American University. Dr. McGowan earned his Ph.D. in higher education administration from Indiana University with a minor in Sociology. His research seeks to illuminate how minoritized populations experience higher education. More specifically, his research explores Black men’s achievement, identity development, interpersonal relationships, and inclusive teaching and learning practices in postsecondary educational settings. Dr. McGowan’s scholarship and professional practice have been praised through awards and honors including the Tracy L. Davis Outstanding Emerging Research Award from ACPA’s Coalition on Men and Masculinities, UNCG’s School of Education Distinguished Research Scholar Award, the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators Melvene D. Hardee Dissertation Award, and the Emerging Professional Award from The Ohio State University Higher Education and Student Affairs Program. He co-edited Men and Masculinities: Theoretical foundations and promising practices for supporting college men’s development (Stylus, 2019) and Black Men in the Academy: Narratives of resiliency, achievement, and success (Palgrave MacMillan, 2016). In 2017, Dr. McGowan co-edited a special issue of the Journal of College and University Student Housing dedicated to social justice. Dr. McGowan has delivered over 50 presentations and invited talks at professional conferences and postsecondary institutions across the country on issues related to equity, inclusion, diversity and social justice. Dr. McGowan is active in several professional associations, including the Association for the Study of Higher Education, the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators, and the ACPA-College Student Educators International. He most recently served on the editorial board of the Journal of Student Affairs Research and Practice. Prior to joining American University, he was a tenure track professor at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and Indiana State University. He also served as a project associate for the Indiana University Center for Postsecondary Research primarily working with the National Survey of Student Engagement. Dr. McGowan has also held several positions within student affairs administration including housing and residence life, new student orientation, and career services. Given his expertise in retention and persistence of college men of color, Dr. McGowan was invited to be part of three conversations with 150 educational researchers, evaluators, and community advocates through Research, Integration, Strategies, and Evaluation (RISE) for Boys and Men of Color, a $10 million-dollar national field advancement initiative in 2016 and 2017.