In good company

WHAT: The Men of Color Alliance (MOCA) brings together male students, faculty and staff of color to provide networking and social opportunities in a safe space.

DETAILS: Sixteen students meet regularly for social activities, mentorship and networking events.

By The Numbers

16 MOCA participants at SUNY Adirondack

Two participants made the Dean’s List in Fall 2022

2.24 average GPA of participants (the national average for men of color is 2.1)

The young men of MOCA created a video to promote the group, showing its members playing mini golf, racing go-karts, eating hibachi, designing their ideal student lounge and building marshmallow structures in a STEM challenge.

But the fun they’re having is just the surface of a campus-wide effort to help provide male students of color — a group that, according to the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies, experiences the lowest graduation rates compared with peers of other races and ethnicities — opportunities for success.

“Having that sense of community, of belonging, is important,” said

MOCA offers participating students academic success coaches, monthly networking luncheons, four-year college transfer visits, a stipend for professional attire and attendance at SUNY’s Men of Color annual Diversity Conference.