ABSTRACT
The complex issues surrounding the education of American men are well documented and pervasive. With relatively fewer men attending an institution of higher education after completing high school, the gender gap between men and women continues to widen. Far from bemoaning the successes of engaging college women, it is time for faculty, staff, and administrators to begin rethinking how to also engage college men with similar ingenuity. A greater emphasis on the strategies that engage men in the classroom may lead to a better learning environment for both men and women. Among the best-documented successes in higher education, particularly for those students from first-generation backgrounds, are the varieties of formal and informal mentoring programs that engage students with peers, with older students, with faculty, and with other campus professionals. The opportunity to engage and to learn from another student provides a sense of connection to the campus and an opportunity to interpret the campus climate.
