Urban Male Initiative
Room L.73.01 New Building
646.557.4557
umi@jjay.cuny.edu
https://www.jjay.cuny.edu/urban-male-initiative
Urban Male Initiative (UMI) is an advocacy program that provides academic and social support for underrepresented students, with a focus on African-American and Latino males at John Jay College of Criminal Justice. Overall project goals include:
- Improve academic performance;
- Assist students in their transition, persistence and graduation from John Jay College;
- Create a community of excellence that aligns personal strengths with degree program of study;
- Help prepare students for acceptances into graduate and professional schools through enrichment programs;
- Collaborate with internal and external partners to provide students with information on pipeline programs identified by the CUNY Black Male Initiative (BMI) that are designed to prepare undergraduates for the competitive application process to graduate and professional schools.
All programs and activities of the Urban Male Initiative are open to all students, faculty and staff, without regard to race, gender, sexually, national origin, religion or other characteristics. UMI seeks to increase both retention and graduation rates for all John Jay students while fostering a meaningful college experience in a brave space. UMI frequently collaborates with departments within the college and various academic departments in order to produce events for student enrichment and growth.
Students are invited to apply for positions to become either:
- Peer Advocates (https://www.jjay.cuny.edu/peer-advocates-mentoring-program): Students enrolled in the UMI Peer Advocates Mentoring Program are expected to meet with their Peer Advocate on a weekly basis during the academic school year. Outcomes for mentees include but are not limited to increased self-knowledge and improved self-esteem in social, academic and professional settings and retention through graduation from John Jay College.
- Peer Tutors (https://www.jjay.cuny.edu/peer-tutoring-program): The UMI Peer Tutoring program provides UMI students with one on one assistance and/or group tutoring sessions in order to improve their academic performance. Students can make appointments using TutorTrac or can walk-in for assistance.
The UMI is a branch within CUNY’s Black Male Initiative, (CUNY BMI) (http://www1.cuny.edu/sites/bmi/) a CUNY-wide initiative that increases, encourages, and supports the inclusion and educational success of students from groups that are severely underrepresented in higher education, in particular African, African American/Black, Caribbean and Latino/Hispanic males.
We invite you to visit our website (https://www.jjay.cuny.edu/urban-male-initiative) or meet the UMI Team in the UMI Student Learning Lab (L.73.01 NB) and Student Lounge (L. 74.02 NB) for additional information.