Reflecting on Our Past, Visioning Our Future: Celebrating 30 Years of Men & Masculinities Work in ACPA

Daniel Tillapaugh, Ph.D. @dtillapaugh

University of Maine

Chair, Standing Committee on Men & Masculinities

            In 2004, Harry Cannon, one of the founders of the then-Standing Committee for Men, wrote a lovely retrospective article of the SCM’s first 20 years.  The article – a brilliant history lesson on the founding of the SCM within ACPA’s organizational structure and other key aspects of the tensions between the feminist men’s movement with those within the men’s rights movement – provides a helpful reminder about the power of place.  Cannon (2004) writes:

The Standing Committee for Men has been ‘built into’ the institution that is ACPA.  The
            committee members not only find strength in each other, but have – over two decades –
            continued to make a difference in the lives of men on their home campuses. (p. 2)

A decade later, these sentiments still ring true.

              Over the past ten years, five chairs have led this organization and its work along with many dedicated and engaged directorate and leadership team members.  Matt Helm (2004-2006), Mike Strong (2006-2008), Paul Brown (2008-2010), Z Nicolazzo (2010-2012), and myself (2012-2016) have had the privilege of serving as chair of this organization, and even in a decade, the organization has continued to evolve.  The founders of the SCM were clearly supporting a pro-feminist perspective (Cannon, 2004), and that continues today.  Several years ago, the SCM’s leadership team reaffirmed the organization’s vision statement “to be a preeminent clearinghouse of information, knowledge, and professional development on issues related to men’s identity and development for all student affairs educators” (SCMM, n.d.).  We continue to aspire to this vision, and we are working proactively to reach this every day.

These past ten years have brought along new mile markers in our work to attain our vision statement.  In 2007, the inaugural Conference on College Men (CCM) was launched in collaboration with NASPA; the CCM has continued to be a biannual event with work already beginning for the next CCM in 2015.  In 2010, we saw the establishment of our Scholar-in-Residence program, which has provided opportunities for the dissemination of research and scholarship on college men and masculinities work by emerging scholars.  Throughout that time, we have been honored to have Chase Catalano (2010-2011), Dr. Brian D. Reed (2011-2013), and Dr. Brian McGowan (2013-2014) serve in this role, each with their research that provides an intersectional perspective of gender and other social identities.  Over the past few years, we have maintained a wonderful partnership with our colleagues in the NASPA Men and Masculinities Knowledge Community through three joint publications.  In 2012, we saw our name change officially from the Standing Committee for Men to the Standing Committee on Men and Masculinities with wide support of our members and the ACPA Governing Board, and the publication of an excellent publication on men and masculinities issues from a group of graduate students and new professionals.  2013 brought about increased opportunities for leadership involvement within the SCMM through Coordinator positions, one year appointed leadership roles.  Additionally, we launched our SCMM blog, which has continued to serve a vital role in the dissemination of knowledge for our members.  Personally, I was proud as both Chair and my role as a professor in the Higher Education program at the University of Maine to have the graduate students enrolled in my College Men & Masculinities course this Fall publish thoughtful and insightful blog posts here on the SCMM blog. 

This year brings a great deal of celebrating our past, present, and future.  We hope that you’ll continue to check out this space over the coming months to read the terrific insights of scholars and practitioners as well as some recognition of our 30 years of history.  Our social and awards ceremony at ACPA on Monday, March 31 from 6 – 7 p.m. in the Indianapolis Marriott Downtown – Boston will serve as a formal time to have our members come together and honor this momentous occasion.  However, our celebrations will happen outside of convention as well.  We have plans for a new webinar series that will be free to our members which will be launched this Spring, and we have established a partnership with ACPA’s quarterly online publication, Developments, which will publish a series of articles relating to issues of intersectionality and college men and masculinities.  We look forward to all of these opportunities to connect with you around these important issues within our community.

What comes next?  We have so much potential for our collective work in this next decade ahead.  The Standing Committee on Men and Masculinities is lucky to have a membership that is passionate about the work that we do and who supports our collective work.  Whether it’s connecting with us via Facebook or Twitter, in open meetings at convention, or other avenues, we welcome your involvement, input, and insights.  As we look forward to our 40^th anniversary in 2024, I hope that our collective work continues to be informed by excellent research and scholarship, outstanding practices that aim to help support our college men, and partnerships that can move our field forward.  Thank you for your engagement, involvement, and support.  I look forward to connecting with many of you who will be in attendance at Indy ’14. 

References

Cannon, H. (2004).  Back when…  Men on campus: Standing Committee on Men Newsletter. 
            Washington, D.C.: ACPA.

Standing Committee on Men & Masculinities (n.d.).  Vision Statement.  Retrieved from
            http://www.myacpa.org/scmm

30 People in 30 Years Part 1

In his blog post this week, Daniel Tillapaugh, Ph.D. (@dtillapaugh) wrote about the great progress that the Standing Committee on Men & Masculinities has made over the past decade. We, the Standing Committee want to take this opportunity to recognize 30 individuals who have been nominated by their peers and colleagues for making a significant impact on our experience, organization, and the student affairs community. Below are a compilation of comments made out these great advocates and educators.

#1) Jason Laker - Jason has been recognized as being a champion of the SCM & SCMM for many years.  He has served as the chair of the group in the early 2000s, and he has continued to advocate, partner, and advise the leadership team in that time.  His work and scholarship on men and masculinities in addition to gender development issues have been extremely important for our field.  His mentorship and and continued participation as a presenter for sponsored programs and advocacy at executive levels for having keynote speakers on the larger ACPA agenda has continued to advance the work of SCMM.  The SCMM would not be what it is today without the hard work and dedication of Dr. Jason Laker.

#2) Chase James Catalano - Chase was the inaugural Scholar in Residence for the SCMM a number of years ago.  In assuming this role, Chase expanded the Standing Committee's conversations about gender beyond the body.  By that I mean that Chase was able to talk about masculinity about not being something attached to one's body, but as a discourse that shaped the lives and experiences of individuals who identified as men regardless of their bodies. Chase is deeply committed to advancing social justice around issues of gender and has been a leader in our field, as well as the scholar in residence for SCMM, promoting transgender understanding.  Chase's scholarship also is critical to pushing back the boundaries of knowledge regarding gender performance on campus.

#3) Rachel Wagner - Rachel has been central to the SCMM's understanding of the various forms of masculinities and has been a key ally in the efforts to help student affairs professionals understand how to effectively engage and promote the learning of male identified students.

#4) Paul Brown - Paul is a former chair of the Standing Committee on Men and Masculinites.  While chair, Paul put in a significant amount of time working with others involved with the committee on restructuring the SCMM. Paul not only has been a tremendous advocate for understanding the issues around male identified students on college campuses, he has fostered collaborative and deeper relationships among SCMM and other ACPA committees, commissions, and The Executive Committee.  Additionally, Paul is the genius behind our yearly tradition of developing SCMM pins. Since his time as chair, Paul has been a strong supporter and advocate for the work of SCMM.

#5)  David Braverman - David was performing research regarding men's development long before it became understood, accepted, or popular.  He has been one of the leaders in our field, helping to pave the way for others to have an easier time working to focus attention on men and masculinities.

#6) Brian Reed - Brian, during his time as the Chair of the NASPA MMKC initiated the creation of the first Joint Publication between the NASPA MMKC & the SCMM.  Brian's work with the SCMM continued when he served as the second Scholar in Residence.  He continues to provide important support to the SCMM as well as forward scholarship that focuses on the convergences of class and masculinities, which is often overlooked throughout the literature.  He has been an instrumental figure in forwarding scholarship throughout the SCMM, even when he was not a member of the group (i.e., when he was the Chair of the NASPA MMKC).

We will have more posts coming to recognize more great scholars and professionals over the coming weeks as we usher in our 30th year!

A Lifechanging Conference

Garrett is about to enter into his career as an #Sagrad and can be connected with via Facebook: Garrett Spradlin & Twitter:@Garrettsprad

    To go into a conference wanting clarification of if higher education is what your supposed to do for the rest of your life is a very high expectation. It is an expectation that for me was fulfilled by day two.
    I am a senior at the University of Northern Colorado, finishing up my undergraduate career with a new found direction in the career that so many have come to fall in love with. A simple email month’s prior explained that students who wanted to pursue a life in higher education should look at attending NextGen, a conference specific to undergraduate students. It was that very email that led to what I can only explain as a life changing experience.
    I was fortunate enough to not only attend NextGen, but also stay for the week and attend ACPA (American College Personnel Association) in fabulous Las Vegas to explore the world of higher education and student affairs.
    The standing committee on men and masculinities became a big part of my story when they honored me as their recipient of a NextGen Scholarship. This group opened my eyes to a world I never thought I could be a part of. Hesitant to apply for this particular scholarship, I found myself discovering what it meant to collide the identity of a gay male with masculinity, two terms not commonly associated in today’s society.
    I had originally planned to finish my undergraduate degree and really get into a job
within the field to gain experience and then go back to get my masters later on. After
attending the week, that all changed. To the future generations wanting to also pursue a
job within higher education I will tell you there is very little room for students with just
a bachelor’s degree. It has nothing to do with us or how much were involved, or even how
qualified we may be. The fact is that so many others have a higher level of education that put them a step above.
    I am happy to announce that after returning from NextGen and ACPA I was accepted into grad school with an assistantship offer in housing and residential education. Attending the conference really refocused my path. I met amazing, inspiring, and experienced people that genuinely cared
about me. It’s not very often that speakers like Vernon Wall and Kristin Skarie will sit down with you, offer advice, listen, and really follow up on how things are going.
    I met Deans, Vice-Presidents, professors, and even one of the chairs from NYU’s hiring committee. (My dream school to work at.) These are people that have a say in this profession, people who are passionate and love what they do… But more importantly the realization that they were all people who once started where I am now. Those “take aways”, or what Oprah would call “aha moments” were what meant the most to me as a beginning higher ed professional.
    The hardest part of the whole thing was really hearing so many of the fellow NextGen participant’s answer why they were there. Wanting to be a professional chef because you eat food isn’t a reason to be in that profession; much like being in higher ed because you worked for the university in college the last year. I have built such a belief on higher ed and student affairs that continues to be built upon and change with each step.
    We need to get our students understanding that although what there doing is fantastic and obviously takes dedication to be involved, it is the visualization to move forward. We need to ask what do we represent as professionals in this field? For me I believe that there are things that are being done well and things that we need to improve upon. I want students to understand that no matter where they choose to go, higher education is an option and it can be achieved. I promote higher education as a whole and working within a specific university or department is an added bonus
that maybe I can assist them even more.
    ACPA has become an annual routine for the thousands in attendance, maybe to learn what’s trending, or maybe just to reconnect with old friends. I advise you to never forget when it meant something more. I remind you that the student next to you could have been someone like me, looking for guidance. There was a time when you too were excited to apply to grad school and find your calling in the world. As I look back at my journey and now the path I am on, here’s my five fancy tips to the future NextGen participants and maybe a reminder to the experienced.

1) Don’t get overwhelmed: NextGen may have clarified where I needed to go but the confusion of the next step all became a blur. There’s a lot of information and a lot to learn but take what you can and really enjoy it.
2) Go in open minded, willing to change your path and ideas: Others should test the ideas you have. One presentation can rock your world and shake all you thought you knew. For me that was most of the presentations on social justice. It’s all about perception and understanding a deeper level by the end of these professional development conferences.
3) Do it all, as much as you can: Throw yourself in full force. When someone says, “come join us”, just say yes! It’s sometimes tempting to go back to your room, wanting to get a full nights sleep for the next day of sessions, but if you don’t take every opportunity to gain experience while you’re in the element then you will have missed out.
4) Network Network Network: Generally, people see networking as a chance to try to meet people that may become future employers. Although this may be true, I advise you to look at it differently. These are mentors, these are people who have done this already and want to see you succeed. It’s such a privilege to be able to ask questions and learn from the other professionals around you.
5) Do what scares you, that’s where opportunity lies: I knew that there would be people at the conference I knew but I really went to this conference on my own. I had no idea what to expect and that was terrifying, yet so exciting. I knew that I had two options… meet people or be miserable. I put myself out there a lot, but at ACPA it’s appreciated. If we don’t do these types of things that scare us, we will never find the opportunity that it provides. JUST DO IT!

I owe a huge thank you to about a hundred people I met through this experience. I would list you all but you know who you are. I cannot express my gratitude enough and you have forever become a part of my story.

“It does not matter where you go and what you study, what matters most is
what you share with yourself and the world.” -Santosh Kalwar