The Greater Alabama Black Belt Region (GABBR) LSAMP

Auburn University, Auburn AL

Investigators

Abstract

The Greater Alabama Black Belt Region (GABBR) Alliance goals are to (1) increase the quantity and quality of underrepresented minority STEM degrees, (2) increase the quantity and quality of underrepresented minority undergraduates entering graduate school, and (3) investigate and disseminate the project's impact on recruitment, retention, success, and graduation of target students. The Alliance uses contemporary mentoring strategies to create a network of scholars who are adequately supported through research-focused interventions, public-private partnerships, and study abroad programs to enhance the quality of STEM education for its scholars as they progress through the STEM pathway (pre-college, first two years of college, and last two years of college). The knowledge and findings that is being generated by the project illuminates factors central to promoting interest and persistence in STEM studies and in STEM career trajectories for URMs, especially those from rural communities. GABBR Alliance consists of eight colleges and universities: Alabama State University, Auburn University, Auburn University Montgomery, Enterprise State Community College, Southern Union State Community College, Troy University, Tuskegee University, and University of West Alabama; and two national laboratories: Brookhaven National Laboratory Center and Oak Ridge National Laboratory. GABBR encompasses 17 counties in the Alabama Black Belt and three counties adjacent to the Alabama Black Belt. Within these counties and at the partner institutions, GABBR aims at increasing the number of underrepresented minority STEM bachelor and associate degrees by 100% in five years, from 422 to 844 and 91 to 182, respectively.