Page A The Louis Stokes Mississippi Alliance for Minority Participation LSMAMP James Perkins-LSMAMP Project Director Jackson State University PROJECT SUMMARY The LSMAMP institutions are focusing their collective resources on the rich pool of STEM students to motivate and mentor them toward BS, MS degrees and impact significantly on the number choosing the pathway to a STEM doctorate. The synergy that will result from these institutional interactions to increase minority Ph.D.s will transform the instructional, research and administrative aspects of cooperation among these institutions in ways never before envisioned. The requested support for continuation of the LSMAMP to Phase IV will accelerate this process and contribute to increasing the numbers of minority students entering the Ph.D. pipeline. The funding of the Phase IV program will continue to strengthen the foundation for institutionalization of the program in the state of Mississippi. The MAMP Bridge to the Doctorate program, coordinated by JSU for the alliance and supported by NSF, provides the resources to support 24 minority students to pursue graduate STEM degrees (MS) and then bridge to doctoral programs at MAMP institutions or other doctoral institutions across the nation. The MAMP Bridge to the Doctorate program was distinguished as being only one of two in the nation to place 100% of their Cohort I Bridge to the Doctorate students into doctoral programs. The program developed for Cohort I students will be shared with all MAMP institutions as a model to be replicated on each MAMP campus to leverage the NSF funding and increase the total number of undergraduate MAMP students targeting doctoral studies. Students? having undergraduate research experiences is fundamental to the success of the Bridge to the Doctorate program. Undergraduate research will be a major focus of the Phase IV MAMP program. Each MAMP sites will provide undergraduate research experiences for their students. MAMP sites will place students in research internship positions at MAMP institutions or at partner institution sites. MAMP students will present their research at the annual MAMP research symposium. Students will also be encouraged to present the results of their research projects at state and national conferences and meetings such as the Mississippi Academy of Sciences (MAS), the National Council on Undergraduate Research, the NSF JAM Conference, ABRCMS, and other professional conferences in their disciplines. The large number of minority students attending the MAS conference each year, and the steadily increasing number presenting papers, has benefited the students and has made an indelible impression on the Academy, fostering a climate of increasing diversity in the scientific environment of the state and region. The Phase IV MAMP will include a fresh approach to tracking students after they complete their BS. A robust website incorporating web-portal technology will be developed to support communications, networking and student tracking across the MAMP community. Intellectual Merit: The goal of the LSMAMP program is to establish a secure pathway for underrepresented minority students to obtain BS, MS and PhD degrees in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. This proposed project will build upon existing relationships between MAMP institutions, and partnering institutions, e.g. University of California campuses, LBL, LLNL, AGEM and MRC to increase the number of minority students enrolling and matriculating in MS and Ph.D. STEM graduate programs within and outside of the state of Mississippi. Broader Impacts: The LSMAMP program will increase the number of Ph.D. degrees in STEM areas awarded to minorities, especially African-Americans. We will PROJECT SUMMARY Page A provide well-qualified and diverse faculty members for U S universities and colleges, as well as impact the number of scientists and engineers holding the doctorate for employment in the STEM workforce.
The Louis Stokes Mississippi Alliance for Minority Participation (LSMAMP) LSMAMP is a consortium of six (6) state supported universities (Alcorn State University, Jackson State University, Mississippi State University, Mississippi Valley State University, University of Mississippi and the University of Southern Misssissippi,) one private institution (Tougaloo College) and one community college (Hinds Community College.) LSMAMP was one of the first six alliances funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) in 1991. The impact of LSMAMP in Mississippi has been dramatic and profound. During the years of the program, the number of underrepresented minority STEM students enrolled in the State of Mississippi’s institutions of higher learning increased by 106%; more than double the rate of majority STEM students at 42%. In terms of degree production, the increase over the period from 1990 to 2008 has been a phenomenal 119%. LSMAMP has graduated a total of 9,058 BS minority students in STEM. Phase 4 of LSMAMP has continued to increase the number of underrepreseanted minority students in STEM and has also expanded the program to include international research experiences for its participants. Program activities include: LSMAMP Annual Research Symposium Summer Internships and International Research Faculty Mentored Research Summer Bridge Programs for Incoming Freshman Tutoring and Outreach Programs
