Project MALES
Contact Information:
e. projectmales@austin.utexas.edu
p. 512-232-4617
Project MALES – CRCI
1912 Speedway, Mailstop D5000
George I. Sanchez Building, Suite 4.102
The University of Texas at Austin
Austin, Texas 78712
Brief History of Project MALES
Project MALES is a multi-faceted research and mentoring initiative at the University of Texas at Austin. Dr. Victor B. Sáenz (Professor, UT-Austin) with support from co-founder Dr. Luis Ponjuán (Associate Professor, Texas A&M University) and Dr. Rodrigo Aguayo (Associate Director). The MALES acronym stands for Mentoring, Academics, Leadership, and Educational Scholarship (MALES).
Project MALES encompasses initiatives with national, state, and local impact and oversees an ongoing research agenda focused on understanding the experiences of collegiate males across the education pipeline. We also lead a statewide consortium that convenes K-12 and higher education partners in advancing research-based practices to support all students. At the local level, we coordinate an award-winning mentoring program that aims to cultivate an engaged support network for students in school districts across Central Texas and serves as a model for other mentoring programs across the state. Previously serving pre-collegiate males, our mentoring program is now open to serving all races and genders.
Project MALES embodies praxis by fusing these initiatives through strategies that employ mentoring, research, collective impact, and dissemination. For example, our mentoring model emerged directly from our research findings, and it highlights near-peer and intergenerational mentoring as a way to leverage social capital across multiple generations. Our Project MALES Student Mentoring Program has a strong focus on mentoring, leadership development, community engagement, and collective impact, all of which serve to address the goal of enhancing the overall academic success and retention of students in both secondary and post-secondary education.
