SELT Presentation

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SELT Presentation

• Mary Geller and Gar Kellom
• Student Development
• November 19, 2003

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Leadership in Student Work Positions

• History of SELT from the Kellogg Leadership
  Initiative to educate women and men in student
  work positions in non-positional or
  transformative leadership
• SELT is the most outstanding aspect of that grant
  and the program has exceeded the expectations of
  Kellogg and CSB/SJU and this is why we are here
  today.

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Focus on Men

• Id like to update you on some of the latest from
  the Mens Center research that might inform your
  work and help explain what we are thinking about
• Lets put our heads together to talk about how to
  collectively educate students in these positions
  in leadership skills

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Last two weeks in the center

• Morehouse delegation visited
• Michael Kimmel spoke in the Mens Lives Series
• Alan Berkowitz consulted in our four research
  projects
• New data from SJU Experience III
• My synthesis of what might be happening

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Astin Survey of First Year Students

• Male students at SJU have high levels of
  intellectual self-confidence.
• Males at SJU have high levels of social
  self-confidence

• Women have higher high school grades
• Women are performing better in high school

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New SJU Experience III data

• I do not like to show my emotions to other people
  (1-60 scale)
• SJU men agreement score 30.9
• Perception of friends agreement 36.8

• Hugging other men is difficult for me
• SJU men agreement score 21.8
• Perception of friends agreement 35.5

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Hugging other men is difficult
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Winning is a measure of my worth
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SJU Experience III cont.

• Valuing others by the level of their achievement
  and success
• SJU men agreement score low
• Perception of friends agreement much higher

• I define my personal value by my career success
• SJU men agreement score low
• Perception of friends agreement score much higher

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What do we think it tells us

• Previous research shows that men value being open
  with other men but dont think other men are
  willing
• Late night talks
• Misperceived norms reinforce this
• We are running small groups to engineer ways for
  men to talk openly about who they are

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Other findings

• Mens Spirituality groups create safe places for
  men to talk about their inner life without having
  to wear the mask of masculinity or play the role

• The Mens Center is a safe place for men to first
  explore who they really are as men
• It becomes also a place for men to realize their
  privilege and power
• A place for men to commit themselves to service
  and justice

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Michael Kimmels Study of School Shootings

• Men standing up for those who are marginalized or
  disenfranchised

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Alan Berkowitz

• Men need to recognize male privilege and power
• Understand racism and sexism
• Men can become allies
• To become allies is to ask what is needed and how
  to be an ally
• That is leadership development

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So what does it have to do with SELT?

• Men need to discover who they are under the
  socially constructed gender role
• It is the liberal arts process to help students
  figure out who they really are and what they are
  good at - passion and purpose
• The student job can be a key place that happens
  with the mentoring

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Supervisors can be key to this process

• We are caring adults in the lives of young people
• We can model how to work across the campuses
• We can refrain from shaming and blaming men and
  support them in their self-discovery of who they
  really are
• They can use their power and privilege for the
  good of all

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Morehouse example

• Morehouse takes the lead in mens issues
• Recruitment and retention
• Mens development
• Mens spirituality
• Working with Spelman

• SJU invited to participate with them
• SJU shares what is does
• Partnership emerges
• They ask for help
• A common agenda

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Applications in student jobs

• Mens research jobs in the mens center
• Grant writing
• Book research disengagement of men
• Are men engaged in your work positions
• Is it a safe place no shaming/blaming?
• Are they able to be who they really are?
• Do they see the inequities?
• Are they empowered to work for change?

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What is the supervisor role with college men as
employees? With women?

• This model may not be applicable but the question
  may still be relevant.