To promote the physical, mental, emotional, and social health of men, and attitudes and behaviors that will benefit everyone.
The Men’s Center is a student supported center dedicated to help college men from diverse backgrounds lead healthy lives. The Center was developed in 2002 with support from the Office of Student Life, University Counseling and Testing Center, Student Health Center and Physical and Recreational Services. The Center was the first organization of its kind on a major college campus.
The development of the Center occurred in response to concerns raised by UO staff, faculty and students about men on campus. Davies and colleagues (2000) were aware that nationally, college-aged men were having serious problems: committing over 70% of the major conduct violations, engaging in sexism, sexual assault, and other bias incidences. Additionally, men are responsible for the overwhelming majority of shootings that have occurred on college and high school campuses nationwide, and they commit six of the seven suicides that occur in the college age range. Davies and colleagues (2000) conducted a study of UO men and confirmed that many UO college men were having significant difficulties with drug and alcohol abuse, engaging in unnecessary risk behavior, and committing conduct violations. Participants suggested that the university develop a men’s center on the UO campus to legitimize men’s health needs and increase awareness of men’s issues on campus. UO staff, faculty and students recognized that UO men were in crisis and wanted to take action. These pioneers decided to open the UOMC, the first center of its kind in the USA.
College men’s harmful behaviors detract from the academic mission of the University by creating an unsafe environment for others (e.g. conduct problems, including sexual assault). Despite the overwhelming evidence that men’s behavior is negatively impacting their lives and the entire campus community, they are less likely to seek help than female students. At the UO Counseling and Testing Center, approximately two thirds of the clients are females; this ratio is similar on campuses nationwide. Many of the problems young men face, such as difficulty seeking help, aggressive behavior, and limited ability to express feelings in appropriate manner, continue throughout their lifetime and result in men having a life expectancy that is five to seven years less than women.
The crisis that college men are experiencing nationwide is exacerbated by a lack of training of student service professionals, e.g., residence life, counseling and health care staff members. Few of these professionals have received training in the gender socialization process or their social and behavioral effects. They are not aware of strategies to engage college men in interventions that prevent disruptive conduct and encourage positive behavior such as help seeking. Therefore, training current and future student service professionals on how to intervene with men is a crucial need.
Not only was the UOMC the first center of its kind at a major university, the UOMC has become a national leader in addressing the crisis of the college male. By developing and utilizing innovative intervention techniques based on the latest research on men, the UOMC is frequently asked to present its unique approach at local, regional and national conferences. In order to address the crisis of college men, the UOMC is committed to the following goals.
The University of Oregon’s Men’s Center contributes to the academic mission of the University in three important ways: