Minority Male Mentoring Program Helps Bridge Education Gap

The Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission recognized Dr. Steady Moono, vice president of Student Affairs at Montgomery County Community College, with its Montgomery County Advisory Council’s Yaffe–Smith Civil Rights Award for Outstanding Accomplishments in Education.

The award was presented May 11 at the annual Joseph X. Yaffe-Robert Johnson Smith Civil Rights Award Luncheon in Horsham.

Since arriving at MCCC in 2005, Dr. Moono has led college efforts to ensure that students succeed. One of his initiatives is the Minority Male Mentoring Program, which pairs faculty and staff mentors with male minority students to assist them through their college experience.

“African-American male students who test into developmental courses at Montgomery County Community College were failing,” Moono said in an e-mail interview. “As a group these students had the lowest academic success rates, persistence and graduation rates among all other groups of students at the college.”

With support from MCCC President Dr. Karen Stout and her leadership team, Moono was charged with developing strategies to address the identified achievement gap, he said. He and his team researched best practices in student development and recognized that mentoring was a successful strategy for improving student success at other colleges and universities, Moono said.

“So, in fall 2009, I reached out to college faculty and staff to recruit mentors for the African-American males who tested into developmental courses at the college,” Moono said. “The overwhelming response from the college staff allowed the program to enroll over 100 African-American male students into the program in its first year.”

Moono said that a recent doctoral study by the dean of student affairs found that mentors volunteered to participate because they recognized the need for these types of services for this group of students. “They simply wanted to help out and to try and make a difference for students at the college,” he said.

“In the future, we hope to recruit more students and mentors and to be able to extend our services to other student cohorts who want and need a mentor,” he said. 

“We purposely chose to focus on African-American males first because that is where we have found the greatest need.  As we continue to carefully analyze our student data and identify other cohorts that are in need, now that we have identified a strategy that works, we will use it to address the needs of other student groups,” Moono said.

Moono was named the National Resource Center’s 2008 Outstanding First

Year Student Advocate for his work with new students. The U.S. and Zambian governments recognized Moono for his international leadership as executive director of Africa-America International Ministries for Christ, a nonprofit organization that develops sustainable drip-irrigation projects in rural regions of Zambia.

Born and raised in Zambia, Moono moved to the United States in 1981. He holds a bachelor’s degree in English from Messiah College, master’s degrees in theology and counseling from Biblical Theological Seminary and in English from Arcadia University, and a doctorate in education administration from Immaculata University.

He lives in Collegeville with his wife Kelly and their two children, Micah, 16, and Naomi, 14.

“Those who work to promote civil rights, equal opportunity and human dignity are often unsung heroes working behind the scenes in our communities, schools and workplaces,” Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission Chairman Stephen A. Glassman said in a press release.

The Joseph X. Yaffe-Robert Johnson Smith Civil Rights Awards are named for two prominent Montgomery County civil rights leaders and former Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission chairmen.

The Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission enforces state laws that prohibit discrimination: the Pennsylvania Human Relations Act, which encompasses employment, housing, commercial property, education and public accommodations; and the Pennsylvania Fair Educational Opportunities Act, which is specific to postsecondary education and secondary vocational and trade schools.