Louis Stokes B2B Alliance: Tampa Bay Bridge to the Baccalaureate Alliance

St. Petersburg College, Clearwater FL

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 Tampa Bay Bridge to the Baccalaureate Alliance (TB-B2B) will build on the successful activities in their first project to focus on evidence-based strategies to improve recruitment, and success in mathematics. In addition, they will provide mentoring training for faculty paired with a research study on faculty motivation and engagement. TB-B2B will build on the lessons learned from the current project to restructure Alliance activities with an increased focus on recruitment at Alliance institutions, using evidence-based strategies to improve success in mathematics, and mentor training for faculty. Activities from the previous project to support student retention through advising, mentorship and peer connections will continue, including undergraduate research experiences, career exploration and professional development. All of these activities will be supported by a network of regional partners, including four year institutions, research centers and STEM enterprises. Comprehensive project evaluation with the support and participation of the leadership team, an Alliance Data Team, and an external evaluator will form the basis for achieving project goals and disseminating successful strategies. TB-B2B is led by St. Petersburg College in partnership with Hillborough Community College and State College of Florida Manatee-Sarasota, with the University of South Florida as an informal partner. TB-B2B builds on the foundation established in their first project to increase transfer of URM STEM majors to four year institutions to bolster the region-wide effort in STEM degree attainment and career achievement to increase the diversity of the regional STEM enterprise. 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.