Meet-a-Ram: Carlton Goode helps develop the next generation

By Haley Tenore

When Carlton Goode is honored next month for his dedication to student success, he will be included in esteemed company.

Goode, who earned his Ed.D. from Virginia Commonwealth University in 2022, is the director of intercultural success and initiatives in VCU’s Division of Strategic Enrollment Management and Global Initiatives. And as the faculty advisor for Developing Men of Color at VCU, he has propelled mentorship, academic support, professional development, leadership opportunities and community service to help students thrive in college and beyond.

Goode, whose research has focused on the retention of men of color, developed a course ­­– Dynamic Principles for Professional Development – that supports that audience, and he is also the author of “Melanin Mind: Creating a Path of Excellence in College for Men of Color.”

On Oct. 27, Goode will be among six recipients this year of a Richmond Humanitarian Award from the Virginia Center for Inclusive Communities. Previous honorees have included Arthur Ashe Jr., Sen. Tim Kaine and Rep. Jennifer McClellan, as well as former VCU President Eugene P. Trani, Ph.D.

“I was stunned and incredibly grateful to them for recognizing me for the stuff that I’ve been doing for so many years,” Goode said of the award.

VCU News caught up with Goode for some insight into this path.

How did your own experiences inspire your mission of mentoring men of color in college?

I went to Shaw University in Raleigh, North Carolina, for my undergraduate degree, and then I went to the University of Iowa for my master’s program. One thing I recognized about coming from an HBCU, then going to the University of Iowa, is that they were two completely different schools. And once I got to the University of Iowa, I was like, “Where’s the rest of us?”

Because the University of Iowa is in the Midwest, and you don’t have too many people of color there, particularly at the University of Iowa. And I just started doing my research on why men of color, particularly African American males, are not attending colleges and universities.

I saw it, and I was like, “Wow, that’s me!” And I can see how this stuff is having an impact. And I started digging into it with research, and then I started putting the research into practical theory.

At the University of Iowa, in one of my classes in graduate school, I was the only person of color. It was in a student development class. You know, how do students develop? And what impact does it have on them on that journey? Many times, those questions were asked, especially when it came to different populations. Everybody looked at me, and I can’t speak for the whole community of Black males. I got tired of just raising my hand and everybody looking at me. And my one thought does not speak for everybody. That was one of the things that impacted me.

You serve as faculty advisor for Developing Men of Color at VCU. How does this community help with student retention?

Through all our programs and committees, we keep our guys active. For example, recently, we had a huge mixer. About 400 people attended. Right after the mixer, we had a flag football game.

Every day, two or three programs are going on. We need to keep our members engaged. If you keep them engaged, they feel like they are part of something. And again, that’s where that sense of belonging comes into play.

The course you developed at VCU, Dynamic Principles of Professional Development: Men of Color, originated at Shaw University. What did bringing it to VCU involve?

We traveled to Shaw University once a week and had a team of folks from Shaw helping me out. I think any institution could use it. And Developing Men of Color is also at Old Dominion University right now, and we have a chapter at James Madison University.

One topic we teach in the class is proper dining etiquette, and we do it with a seven-course meal. The guys need to know which fork is a salad fork, and we consider issues like, when do I start a conversation? When do I leave the conversation? Where does my napkin go? How do I be excused from a table?

Things like that, young men don’t talk about. I believe our guys are going to be in those spaces, in those five-star restaurants, those five-star hotels, where they need to know how to use these skills. They’re little skills that everybody should know.

One tradition you brought to VCU was the annual MLK vigil that Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Inc. hosts. Where did this idea come from?

I borrowed it from Shaw University. Martin Luther King Jr. was an Alpha, and I think he should be recognized here through the Alpha chapter on this campus. Dr. King wanted everybody to be involved, and VCU is extremely inclusive. And so, I think King’s vision matches the same vision as VCU of inclusivity as well as diversity.