Louis Stokes STEM Pathways and Research Alliance: Pacific Northwest

University Of Washington, Seattle WA

Investigators

Abstract

The Louis Stokes Alliances for Minority Participation (LSAMP) program assists universities and colleges in their efforts to significantly increase the numbers of students matriculating into and successfully completing high quality degree programs in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) disciplines to diversify the STEM workforce. Particular emphasis is placed on transforming undergraduate STEM education through innovative, evidence-based recruitment and retention strategies, and relevant educational experiences in support of racial and ethnic groups historically underrepresented in STEM disciplines: African Americans, Hispanic Americans, American Indians, Alaska Natives, Native Hawaiians, and Native Pacific Islanders. These strategies facilitate the production of well-prepared students highly-qualified and motivated to pursue graduate education or careers in STEM. For the United States (U.S.) to remain globally competitive, it is vital that it taps into the talent of all its citizens and provides exceptional educational preparedness in STEM areas that underpin the knowledge-based economy. The Pacific Northwest LSAMP (PNWLSAMP) program was established in 2009 in response to the need for a more diverse and skilled technical workforce. That need still exists and is particularly acute in the State of Washington. The ten public institutions that make up the Alliance are diverse and include five four-year institutions and five partnering community colleges. The institutions are Boise State University, Oregon State University, Portland State University, the University of Washington, Washington State University, the College of Western Idaho, Linn-Benton Community College, Seattle Central Community College, Yakima Valley Community College, and Portland Community College. The goal of the Alliance is to increase the number of underrepresented minority (URM) graduates with STEM degrees by 50% over the next five years. This goal will be accomplished by continuing successful programming from previous years while expanding its focus on leadership and mentorship. This new program will include professional development, opportunities to participate in program operations, serve as mentors, and have access to faculty mentorship. This focus will support LSAMP students in developing their scientist identity and self-efficacy through engagement in the culture of science and discussion of the role of race and social stigma in scientific training. PNWLSAMP will also increase the number of URM students from Alliance institutions pursuing graduate education by 5-10% through integrated research experiences and graduate school preparation and advisement. These goals support the National Science Foundation's strategic goal to "cultivate a world-class, broadly inclusive science and engineering workforce, and expand the scientific literacy of all citizens." The educational research study will take an assets-based and intersectional approach, examining factors that contribute to persistence in STEM for students from URM groups. The research project will include a large multi-year study and four smaller "sprint studies" conducted by researchers across the Alliance. The large study will examine how STEM students from URM groups navigate within historically exclusionary social institutional structures. It will also include a participatory action element that engages students and administrators to develop strategies for improving equity on their campuses. The sprint studies will each take place on one PNWLSAMP campus and focus on different dimensions of belonging in STEM for students from URM groups. An external evaluation team will implement both quantitative and qualitative instruments to assess the overall quality of the programs on the individual campuses as well as the entire alliance related to the overall goals of the project. 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.