The Alabama Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation (LSAMP) Program is funded by the National Science Foundation (HRD-1619659). This project, entitled Alabama LSAMP: Sustainability of Best Practices for STEM Education and Research, is designed with the overall goal to implement and study innovative, evidence-based, sustainable best practices in STEM education and research experiences for undergraduates designed to increase the quality and quantity of underrepresented minority students by enhancing the STEM educational experience. The state of Alabama has had an alliance that has been continuously funded by the LSAMP Program since 1991. The alliance consists of 4-year institutions, community colleges, high schools, and industry.
The objectives of the program are:
- To increase the number of students from underrepresented minority groups who earn STEM degrees, with emphasis on STEM undergraduate degrees
- To enhance the STEM educational experience for underrepresented minority students
- Increase retention and progression of underrepresented minority students to baccalaureate degrees
- Enable successful transfer and matriculation of underrepresented minority students from 2-year to 4-year institutions in STEM programs
- Increase access to high quality undergraduate research experiences
- Facilitate seamless transition of underrepresented minority students into STEM graduate programs.
The activities that help us reach our goal and objectives are:
- Performance-based stipend support
- Summer bridge program
- Spring research conference
- Community college bridge to 4-year institution program
- Summer research experiences (high school and undergraduates)
- Outreach to middle school students
The benefits of the program in achieving the goals are a contribution to reversing the loss of US STEM talent, promotion of systemic change in institutional culture to enhance retention of underrepresented minority students in STEM disciplines, increased matriculation of underrepresented minority students that transfer from community colleges into 4-year STEM disciplines, and widespread and sustained transformation of the undergraduate STEM educational experience.