Who are we?
The Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation (LSAMP) is an initiative funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF Grant #2409134) that invests in colleges and universities to aid student success to create a new generation of STEM discoverers for the national STEM enterprise. The program takes a comprehensive approach to the STEM Learning Ecosystem to impact STEM student development and retention.
In Minnesota, the LSAMP program is called the Louis Stokes North Star STEM Alliance (LS-NSSA). LS-NSSA is a partnership of 16 higher education institutions and 3 community partners in Minnesota. The higher education institutions include four-year public and private colleges and universities, technical and community colleges, and two tribal colleges. Our 3 community partners are the Science Museum of MN, MN Technology Association, and the MN STEM Partnership.
What do we do?
Louis Stokes North Star STEM Alliance Goals
- Double the number of underrepresented students receiving bachelor's degrees in science, technology, engineering, and math among partner institutions in a five-year period.
- Develop an alliance of collegiate institutions and community organizations working toward increasing the likelihood of success of underrepresented students working toward the bachelor's degree.
- Foster institutional change toward greater diversity and inclusion on partner campuses.
Louis Stokes North Star STEM Alliance Objectives
To increase STEM degrees for underrepresented students receiving STEM baccalaureates, the Louis Stokes North Star STEM Alliance has identified the following objectives:
- Support student achievement via study groups, tutoring, and supplemental instruction.
- Engage students more deeply in their fields through faculty mentorship and research opportunities.
- Explore career directions at 4-year colleges, in industry, and graduate school.
- Build community through social networking, peer mentorship, and student organizations.
- To achieve these objectives, the Louis Stokes North Star STEM Alliance will provide comprehensive, long-term initiatives that include alliance-wide community building conferences, peer-to-peer learning, undergraduate research opportunities, programs to help students successfully bridge to college and university-level STEM programs, industry internships, professional development, and publicity of current research in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.
