Louis Stokes New STEM Pathways and Research Alliance: USM LSAMP

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 populations 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 must tap into all its citizens' talent and provide exceptional educational preparedness in STEM areas that underpin the knowledge-based economy. The University System of Maryland LSAMP (USM LSAMP) program was established in 1995 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 Maryland. The four universities- University of Maryland, Baltimore County, the University of Maryland, College Park, the University of Maryland, Eastern Shore, and Towson University, plus five community college collaborators- Prince George's Community College, Anne Arundel Community College, Community College of Baltimore County, Montgomery College, and Wor-Wic Community College make up the Alliance. The goal of the Alliance is to increase the number of undergraduates from underrepresented racial and ethnic backgrounds and make them academically competitive, graduate school-ready, and transition well to graduate programs. Students will gain a solid scientific identity and the necessary knowledge, skills, competencies, and dispositions for educational and professional success in STEM fields in the 21st century. USM LSAMP will accomplish this goal by fortifying STEM pathways, facilitating activities focused on improving academic performance, increasing access to undergraduate research experiences, building a sense of community, contributing to the global knowledge base for broadening participation in STEM, and fostering an inclusive institutional culture shift across Alliance institutions. This goal and strategies support the National Science Foundation's strategic plan to 'cultivate a world-class, broadly inclusive science and engineering workforce, and expand the scientific literacy of all citizens.'

The alliances' broadening participation research will contribute to the knowledge base in different ways: The theory-driven study that simultaneously tests the mediating roles of self-efficacy, research excitement, racial climate, science identity, commitment to a STEM career, and sense of belonging in the pathways to STEM persistence and success. The state-of-the-art statistical methods (i.e., propensity score matching, mediation analysis) used in this study allow more robust causal inference and thus provide more rigorous evidence regarding the theory-based model. This study tests whether the mediated effects of the USM LSAMP program vary by gender, ethnicity, and transfer status. Potential findings from this study will inform how to broaden participation in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. Results of the research study will be disseminated through publications, academic and professional conferences, websites, and on-campus workshops to reach researchers, educators, administrators, and students to inform future research, teaching, student success, and the development of effective academic intervention programs.

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.