Louis Stokes STEM Pathways and Research Alliance: NYC LSAMP Alliance

Research Foundation Of The City University Of New York (Lehman), Bronx NY

Investigators

Abstract

The Louis Stokes Alliances for Minority Participation (LSAMP) program assists universities and colleges in diversifying the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) workforce through their efforts at significantly increasing the numbers of students from historically underrepresented minority populations (African-Americans, Hispanic Americans, American Indians or Alaska Natives, Native Hawaiians or Other Pacific Islanders) to successfully complete high quality degree programs in STEM. The New York City Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation in STEM (NYCLSAMP) has significantly contributed to the City University of New York's (CUNY) system science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) baccalaureate degree production among traditionally underrepresented minority groups through curricular and experiential initiatives. Under new leadership at CUNY Lehman College, the alliance consists of 8 participating senior colleges, three community colleges and on honors college. The 2018-2023 NYCLSAMP program activities will provide evidence-based interventions, such as faculty engagement, professional development, advising, curricular design and research experiences to stimulate learning and strengthen academic and research skills to attract, engage, recruit and retain community college and four-year undergraduate students in STEM to degree completion. Evidence-based strategies include interventions emanating directly from published STEM interventions. Students will receive training in research methods, critical thinking, and scientific reading and writing skills. Rigorous broadening participation research will be conducted by an educational psychologist and team, including graduate students, to study the LSAMP model through methodological and theoretical constructs at CUNY Hunter College. The implementation of the project and accompanying research and evaluation has the potential to increase the number of traditionally underrepresented minority students completing STEM undergraduate degrees, pursuing STEM graduate studies or directly entering the STEM workforce. Research and evaluation activities have broad potential for replication to other institution types. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.