Program supporting Black transfer students comes to CSUB

Blake Burton felt a strong sense of belonging while attending Bakersfield College. He was a member of the Umoja Community program there, which supports African American students through a mix of academics, services and cultural enrichment.

"It's an amazing program. It provided a lot of support and gave me a boost in confidence," he said. "It feels like you have another family on campus."

Then Burton transferred to CSUB and that sense of community he had from the program was gone, as Umoja wasn't being offered there.

"It was hard to find friends, to find my niche," he said. "I was really missing Umoja. It felt like I had separated from my family."

CSUB is working toward facilitating those types of connections on campus by partnering with the statewide Umoja Community Education Foundation to bring the program to the university. CSUB will be first affiliate Umoja program in the CSU system, pending final approval of an agreement between the university and the organization.

The CSUB program, which started in August at the beginning of the academic year, is focused on serving Black transfer students. The goal is to help them transition to university life by establishing a welcoming community of Black students, faculty and staff on campus as well as providing access to scholarships and on-campus jobs, academic support, cultural trips and more.

"I think it's really important for transfer students to have an Umoja program," said Dr. Paula Parks, coordinator of both the CSUB and Bakersfield College (BC) programs. "After they graduate from the community college, they come here to CSUB and they're juniors, but they're new. I'd hate for students to struggle, feeling lost and without a community and not really take advantage of their time here because they don't have the support that they need to be successful."

Umoja - a Kiswahili word meaning "unity" - is guided by several practices, including being intentional and deliberate in making decisions, creating an ethic of love that provides a foundation for interactions and "manifesting" - having programming that is relevant to students' lives outside of the classroom.

"What's really important is the philosophy behind Umoja, because that's really the strength of the program," Dr. Parks said. "When everyone has that foundation of the practices, then when you get together, everyone can instantly connect due to shared values."

CSUB has long lacked a program designed for Black transfer students and Dr. Parks hopes that Umoja can fill the gap. Many of the students who transfer to CSUB find that the university doesn't offer the same level of support they've received at their community college.

"They're used to an Umoja experience where they're loved, where they're supported, where their educational and career objectives are nurtured, where they have a space to study and have friends. Then they come here and it's harder because all of that is missing," she said. "My goal is to help all Black transfer students who are here to make that transition, to have that support and to form community and then take that next step in their education or career."

Dr. Parks believes that sense of community and belongingness is crucial to these students reaching academic success and ultimately graduating.

"Students who are more engaged are more likely to graduate and transfer," she said. "When you have people that you're accountable to, you're less likely to just drop out. The students are connected, and it just it makes a big difference in their success and in their retention."

President Vernon B. Harper Jr. has long been an advocate of the Umoja program and is excited to see it come to CSUB.

"We are elated that Alumni Hall of Fame member Dr. Paula Parks is bringing the Umoja program to our university, which will make us the first CSU campus to offer this transformational opportunity to students," he said. "Dr. Parks founded the Umoja program at Bakersfield College, where her students transfer at an impressive four times the rate of Black students not in Umoja. We know that affirming our students culturally nurtures a sense of belonging, and we are working to create that connection for all of our Roadrunners."

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