MIND Alliance for Minority Students with Disabilities in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics

Cuny Hunter College, New York NY

Investigators

Abstract

The MIND Alliance for Minority Students with Disabilities in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics is designed to bring together the expertise and resources of two minority-serving institutions of higher education, Hunter College, City University of New York in New York City, NY and Southern University in Baton Rouge, LA, to increase the quantity and quality of students with disabilities receiving community college and baccalaureate degrees in STEM disciplines and entering the STEM workforce or graduate education. The MIND Alliance is addressing the following objectives: (1) To successfully retain, graduate and transition secondary school students with disabilities for entry into community college and baccalaureate STEM degree programs. (2) To successfully retain, graduate and transition students with disabilities from community college degree programs to STEM baccalaureate programs or the workforce. (3) To successfully retain, graduate and transition students with disabilities from STEM baccalaureate degrees to STEM graduate degrees or the workforce. Student interventions, which emphasize culturally sensitive student experiences and a career assessment and counseling approach, are combined with traditional promising practices: Summer Institute Programs; Tutoring, Mentoring and Role Modeling; High School Counselor and Teacher Workshops; Research Opportunities and Internship Programs; Student Scholarships and an Annual Science Conference. The project is being evaluated by a Dr. Allen Lewis, an Associate Professor of Rehabilitation Counseling at Virginia Commonwealth University. Dissemination will focus on the use of web-based diffusion with an emphasis on sharing the partnering model and culturally sensitive career planning approach with a national post-secondary audience.