The University of Oregon has had a Men’s Resource Center (MRC) serving its undergraduate and postgraduate students since 2001. I spoke with Dr. Arian Mobasser, the man who leads the MRC today, and heard some really interesting and encouraging insights from him.
Dr. Mobasser is a developmental psychologist who specializes in promoting the well-being of boys and men. He’s a consultant, thought partner, and community builder, in addition to coordinating U of O’s Men’s Resource Center, which is one of the first and few existing campus initiatives focused on helping college men develop stronger, healthier relationships with themselves and others.
Excerpt from the interview
Arian Mobasser: In the interest of building coalitions we sometimes focus on why the work of the men’s resource center is important for the community more generally. And it is really important. That’s a huge part of what we do is conveying to people that this is social justice work. This is equity work. And also, I think there’s an increasing awareness that ‘men are people too’, and that it’s really important that we support them in feeling okay and really flourishing. So, I’m really grateful that the student government here at the University of Oregon is actually one of our biggest champions. Watch the full interview.
Bringing this to Washington state
To our knowledge, no college or university in our state has a resource center specifically for men. Who will be the first, and when will it happen? We’d be pleased to cooperate with anyone who’s interested in starting an initiative like this at a higher education institution in Washington.