Albany State University

The Mission of the Center for the African-America Male (CAAM) at Albany State University is dedicated to developing African-American men to be leaders in the community, the state of Georgia and the Nation. We further strive to develop the image as well as the quality of life of African-American families by addressing developmental needs, interest and talents of male collegiate students and youth. It is our ultimate mission to improve the "Total Man" academically, spiritually, emotionally, physically and socially. Albany State University's CAAM program is partially funded through the USG African-American Male Initiative.

In 2000, the University System of Georgia (USG) verified that USG institutions enrolled a low percentage of African-American males in comparison to the percentage of African-American males in the population. For example, within the USG, African-American females out-numbered African-American males two to one (28,000 to 14,000) even though the percentage of African-American males and females in the population was about the same.

A similar situation exists in almost every University System in the country. In response, the USG in 2001 developed a special funding initiative to conduct an initiative aimed at identifying barriers to the participation of African-American males in the University System. The Governor and General Assembly provided the USG $200,000 in FY03 to support the initiative. For more information on the USG initiative, please visit the USG Web Site Initiatives main page (http://www.usg.edu/initiatives/).