The underrepresentation of minorities in the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) workforce remains a national problem fourteen years after the National Science Foundation (NSF) initiated the Louis Stokes Alliances for Minority Participation (LSAMP) Program. By all accounts, however, great progress has been made as indicated by the consistent trend of increasing enrollment and baccalaureate STEM degrees by underrepresented minorities (URM) in the LSAMP program since the beginning of the program in 1991. Figures show that baccalaureate degrees awarded at LSAMP institutions increased from 3,914 in 1991 to over 24,000 in 2004, and URM enrollment increased from 35,000 to over 200,000 as the number of LSAMP sites increased from 6 to 35. As one of the six oldest NSF alliances in the nation, Alabama Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation (ALSAMP) has been at the forefront of efforts to increase the quantity and the quality of underrepresented minorities receiving baccalaureate degrees in STEM fields. The alliance has made outstanding progress in increasing enrollment and undergraduate degree production and changing the culture in STEM education at member institutions. With this experience, successful Phase I-Phase III awards and three Bridge to the Doctorate (BD) awards, the alliance is poised to undertake a Phase IV proposal to completely sustain the project by the end of NSF funding. To do this a team effort involving all member institutions and chief academic officers was needed. In preparation for the LSAMP Phase IV application, each alliance member was asked to identify particular campus programs for inclusion in the phase IV proposal and strategies and resources for sustaining those efforts after NSF support ends. In addition, the ALSAMP Principal Investigator met in Atlanta, Georgia, with Dr. Ansley Abraham, Director, Southern Regional Education Board (SREB)-State Doctoral Scholars Program, to solicit support for the proposed efforts from that organization. Information and application material regarding minority fellowships were also solicited from the Ford Foundation, NSF and other agencies. An executive committee meeting was then held to discuss the programs and recommendations for sustainability. This proposal grew out of the discussions at this meeting. ALSAMP currently has a variety of student support programs designed to meet the needs of undergraduate students, as well as students at the high school to college and the college to graduate school junctions in the academic pipeline. Over the period of the ALSAMP Phase IV award, these programs will be sustained and institutionalized. The ALSAMP program sustainability is divided into two parts; undergraduate student programs and BD student programs. Undergraduate student programs include scholarship support, mentors, research conferences and graduate school preparation activities. BD student programs include fellowship and other support. Details on how each partner institution will sustain the project on their campus as well as how alliance-wide programs and the BD programs will be sustained are included in the proposal. These efforts will include SREB, the Ford Foundation, the NSF Alliances for Graduate Education and the Professoriate and others. Intellectual Merit - The project is an important step in advancing knowledge and understanding of the factors involved in assisting minority students in the attainment of baccalaureate degrees in science technology, engineering and mathematics and bridging the gap between college and graduate school. In addition, important knowledge on the process for achieving sustainability will be provided as a model for other similar projects. The project results will add to the knowledge base in educational and evaluation. Broader Impacts - The project broadens the participation of underrepresented groups by the inclusion of a large number of minority students in the target population for the program. In addition, a large number of Historically Black Colleges and Universities are included in the Alabama alliance, and the project efforts will involve a diverse pool of students and faculty. Discovery and understanding are advanced by the collaboration between disciplines and institutions. Evaluation and assessment findings will be documented and disseminated to other researchers in education and at national meetings.
The Alabama Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation (ALSAMP) Phase IV program began November 1, 2006, as a new initiative under the National Science Foundation (NSF) Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation (LSAMP) program. The alliance includes 12 institutions with a current combined underrepresented minority science, technology, engineering and mathematic (STEM) enrollment of 7,069 and bachelor degree production of 1,397. In a state where opportunities for minorities were limited 20 years ago, the alliance has been the key that opened the doors of opportunity for a countless number of minority STEM students. Enrollment and Degrees The total number of underrepresented minority bachelor’s STEM degrees during the period 11/01/06 – 10/31/11 was 5,083. The total number of underrepresented minority STEM students enrolled per year during the period 9/01/06 – 8/31/11 was as follows: Year 2006/2007 2007/2008 2008/2009 2009/2010 2010/2011 STEM Students 7,133 6,855 6,431 6,682 7,068 ALSAMP Summer Bridge Program The Summer Bridge Program is a seven week residential program supported by NSF as one component of the statewide Alabama LSAMP project headquartered at UAB. During the period of the award, 150 underrepresented minority STEM students have completed the program; entered college as advanced freshmen students and proceeded to excel in their chosen major. The success of this program inspired UAB to begin its own a summer bridge program for incoming freshmen students modeled after the ALSAMP program. Bridge to the Doctorate Activity ALSAMP has had five cohorts of the ‘Bridge to Doctorate" (BD) activity over the past five-year period (2006-2011). These cohorts have included: Tuskegee University, Auburn University, The University of Alabama at Birmingham and The University of Alabama. These activities have had a profound impact on higher education in Alabama. The five cohorts have resulted in the enrollment of 60 new underrepresented minority students in STEM graduate programs in Alabama. Ten BD students have been awarded doctoral degrees in STEM over the past five years. ALSAMP State-wide Research Conference The statewide ALSAMP Research Conference is held annually at UAB. This conference brings together all ALSAMP students to discuss their research and participate in a research poster competition. Over the last five year period, 600 undergraduate and BD students have attended this annual conference. Community College Activities A NSF sponsored 2009 Community College Workshop was held at UAB to engage in a national dialogue on the best practices for the recruitment and transition of engineering and science students from community colleges to four-year institutions. The dialogue involved NSF personnel, presidents, faculty, staff and students from both community colleges and four-year institutions, and principal investigators from the NSF LSAMP Program. The workshop resulted in the establishment of signed partnership agreements between each ALSAMP institution and a corresponding Alabama community college. International Activities ALSAMP students have and continue to participate in many international research activities through study abroad programs, exchange programs and research conferences. Ryan Devon Lang, an Oakwood University student, conducted maternal/infant global health research in Amman, Jordan in the summer of 2010. Candace Watson, a UAB BD Fellow, presented an engineering research paper in Xi’an, Shaanxi, China in 2010. BD Fellows Jaquice D. Hughes, TaShundra Robinson and Candace Watson were selected to participate in the UAB Study Broad Program in Egypt. Simone Ridgeway , an ALSAMP Scholar, participated in the UAB Study Abroad Program in Japan which furthered her interest in diabetes research as a biology major. Hadiyah-Nicole Green, a BD Fellow/Physics Graduate Fellow, was awarded 1st place in the poster competition at the Third International Conference on Nanoparticles, Nanomaterials, Nanodevices and Nanosystems, on Crete Island, Greece Dr. Overtoun Jenda has been funded for the U.S.-Africa Advanced Study Institute and Workshop in Mathematical Sciences. The institute and workshops will be held in Livingstone, Zambia, December 1-14, 2011. Economic and Other Impacts Over the past five year period more than $5,000,000 has come into Alabama in support of undergraduate and graduate students. These funds have provided tuition and stipend support for students, housing, new faculty, faculty and staff salaries, travel costs and indirect cost revenues for the twelve members of the alliance. NSF support has had an economic impact on both the institutions and the state. An increase of 60 new STEM graduate students (BD Fellows) from around the country in a five-year period in Alabama is certainly having an impact on graduate education, especially since these students are supported by NSF.
