EVENT: More than 450 students from school districts, community colleges and universities across Texas will participate in the sixth annual Texas Male Student Leadership Summit at The University of Texas at Austin. The event is hosted by Project MALES and the Texas Education Consortium for Male Students of Color in the Division of Diversity and Community Engagement (DDCE).

WHEN: Aug. 8-9. A schedule is available online.

WHERE: Student Activity Center, University of Texas at Austin

BACKGROUND: Students, administrators and faculty from high schools and colleges across Texas will convene at the summit for two days of professional development workshops, speaker events, seminars and more. All activities revolve around five themes: leadership, college and career readiness, identity, brotherhood, and health and wellness.

Topics will include issues related to gender role socialization and positive identity formation, financial literacy, preparing for college, healthy lifestyle choices, and disrupting the school to prison pipeline for boys and men of color. The goal of the summit is to create a space for students and their allies from across the state to strategize on how to better serve male students of color across Texas high schools, community colleges and four-year institutions. The summit also aims to provide student leaders access to a robust network of academic and professional leaders and role models.

This year’s event will include a Male Student Program Awards ceremony honoring three minority male initiatives across Texas that are excelling in serving young men of color. Awardees will be chosen from three categories: high school, community college and four-year institution.

Featured speakers include:

·     Raymund Paredes, commissioner, Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board
·     Ernesto Mejia, vice president and CSO, Coolspeak
·     Maximo Anguiano, inspirational speaker and thought leader
·     SaulPaul, “Musician with a Message”

The summit is a part of the Consortium’s larger effort to help the state of Texas meet its goals outlined in the state’s 60x30TX plan — which calls for 60 percent of Texans ages 25-34 to hold a certificate or degree by 2030. This is the only annual leadership summit of its kind offered to students and educators across the state.

Use #TXMaleSummit2019, #TXEdConsortium and @ProjectMALES to follow the online conversation.

More about the Texas Education Consortium for Male Students of Color: Housed within the DDCE’s Project MALES, the Consortium works to advance equitable educational outcomes for male students of color at the local, state, and national level. All Consortium members are part of a statewide network that works to implement effective policies, programs and practices focused on increasing individual success and post-secondary completion for male students of color.