PILOT REGIONAL LOUIS STOKES CENTER: Midwest Center of Excellence

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The Louis Stokes Midwest Center of Excellence (LSMCE) will serve as a resource and support entity to broaden the participation of underrepresented minority (URM) students at 28 non-LSAMP institutions in Indiana, Illinois, Ohio, Michigan, Missouri and Wisconsin and who have chosen academic majors in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) degree programs. The Center?s activities will be concentrated in areas of information dissemination and outreach. Its goal is to strengthen the recruitment and retention of URM students through mentoring and providing support to ease the transitional challenges at critical educational junctures. LSMCE has three primary objectives: Objective 1: Taking a leadership role to articulate the national critical need for broadening minority participation and success in STEM undergraduate programs. Objective 2: Developing an information hub that provides consistent on-line resources and sustained opportunities to showcase best practices in STEM teaching/learning and to support URM students? persistence and engagement through research and internship experiences. Objective 3: Establishing a cyber portal, cLSMCE hub, to disseminate information and create networks of support for non-LSAMP students on the 28 partner campuses in the Midwest. LSMCE activities will broaden the participation of historically underrepresented groups, including women and ethnic and racial minorities in the STEM enterprise, by providing access to research and science programs and by working diligently with non-LSAMP institutions. The Center will not only help to close the gap created by the paucity of underserved individuals who are STEM professionals functioning creatively, it also encourages others who have been reticent to attempt baccalaureate-level science work.