Louis Stokes Renewal STEM Pathways and Research Alliance: LSAMP Alaska Alliance

University Of Alaska Anchorage Campus, Anchorage AK

Investigators

Abstract

With support from the Louis Stokes Alliances for Minority Participation (LSAMP) this STEM Pathways and Research Alliance (SPRA) from the lead institution, the University of Alaska Anchorage will effect a systemic change in the hiring patterns of Alaska Natives in the STEM professions. There are approximately 3,000 students in our STEM pipeline. Since the first LSAMP award in 2001, the Alliance has graduated 1,296 minority STEM students and increased bachelor degree attainment from underrepresented STEM students from a pre-LSAMP number of 16.7 to 64.8. The Alaska Alliance includes all 19 campuses within the University of Alaska system. The focus of the effort is to effect systemic change by eradicating forever the belief that minority students are not science and engineering material; inspiring students to complete advanced science and math coursework in middle and high school, and developing students so they are socially and academically hyper-prepared for BS STEM degrees when they arrive at the university. This LSAMP Alliance serves as a support for the undergraduate portion of a multi-stage institutional initiative designed to prepare and support Alaska Native students and other minorities from middle school through graduate school to succeed in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) careers. The project goals are to 1. Continue to expand the work we are doing with Summer Bridge at the transitions between high school and college, and from undergraduate to graduate school; 2. Expand our capacity for undergraduate research and build our capacity to conduct international research; 3. Strengthen our presence on additional Alliance Community campuses; 4. Complete internal and external research studies assessing the effectiveness of our longitudinal model. Dissemination efforts will include publishing results of the impacts of the Alliance on a website, presentations at conferences, and submitting journal articles. The LSAMP program takes a comprehensive approach to student development and retention. 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. Therefore, the project will contribute significantly to broadening participation in academe and science research. 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.