Tennessee Valley Tri-State LSAMP Pre-Alliance Planning

路易斯·斯托克斯少数民族参与联盟（LSAMP）计划通过显著增加历史上代表性不足的少数民族（URM）人口的学生人数，帮助大学和学院实现科学，技术，工程和数学（STEM）劳动力的多样化（非裔美国人、西班牙裔美国人、美洲印第安人或阿拉斯加原住民，夏威夷原住民或其他太平洋岛民），以成功地完成高质量的学位课程在干。LSAMP预联盟规划工作的潜在田纳西河流域三州干路径和实施只（SPIO）2022年，北亚拉巴马大学、密西西比女子大学、密西西比-马丁大学、东密西西比社区学院和西北浅滩社区学院与其他非学术组织结成联盟，将建立一个广泛的网络平台，以评估和开发机构间资源，政策和途径，以提高在这个主要是美国农村地区的干URM毕业率。这一规划期将a）产生关于各种合作伙伴的有效性的新信息，以正式建立联盟; B）提供对URM STEM本科生提供的当前服务，资源和机会的全面评估，并确定存在的差距;以及c）设计和促进新的途径，以证据为基础的活动，将提高URM本科生在STEM领域的数量。在区域一级，这项工作将提供知识，通过实施对包括雇主在内的拟议伙伴网络可持续的活动，促进一批特别目标学生的发展。凭借STEM领域的学术和行政领导经验，该团队了解目标三州地区周边农村地区的学生和家庭所面临的障碍和挑战。通过这一规划工作，新的途径将被启用，否则，如果没有这样的协同努力，就不会融合。该项目的结果将用于在2022年制定一个完整的提案，通过NSF LSAMP STEM途径实施（SPIO）资助机会，为招聘，保留，毕业，和研究生的成功，主要是农村学生从历史上代表性不足的背景，在干学科。通过评估目前的资源和方法，我们将建立和正式化的路径，从农村北方亚拉巴马，农村密西西比和农村田纳西州在准备一个完整的联盟，这将是既响应和竞争力的劳动力需求在这个三州地区。这项规划赠款将使战略伙伴关系，最终将加强三-该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响力进行评估，被认为值得支持审查标准。

The Louis Stokes Alliances for Minority Participation (LSAMP) program assists universities and colleges in diversifying the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) workforce through their efforts at significantly increasing the numbers of students from historically underrepresented minority (URM)populations(African-Americans, Hispanic Americans, American Indians or Alaska Natives, Native Hawaiians or Other Pacific Islanders) to successfully complete high quality degree programs in STEM.The LSAMP Pre-Alliance Planning effort for a potential Tennessee Valley Tri-State STEM Pathways and Implementation-Only (SPIO) alliance in 2022 involving the University of North Alabama, Mississippi University for Women, the University of Mississippi-Martin, East Mississippi Community College and Northwest-Shoals Community College with other non-academic organizations will allow an extensive network a platform from which to evaluate and develop inter-institutional resources, policies and pathways to improve graduation rates for URMs in STEM in this predominantly rural U.S. region. This planning period will a) yield new information about the effectiveness of a diverse array of partners to formalize an Alliance; b) provide a comprehensive assessment of the current suite of services, resources, and opportunities offered to URM STEM undergraduates and determine where the gaps exist; and c) design and promote new pathways with evidence-based activities that will improve the numbers of URM undergraduates in STEM fields. Regionally, this work will provide knowledge to advance a specially targeted cohort of students by implementing activities that will be sustainable for the proposed network of partners, including employers. With a strong blend of academic and administrative leadership experiences in STEM fields, this team offers an understanding of the barriers and challenges faced by students and families in surrounding rural areas of the targeted tri-state region. Through this planning effort, new pathways will be enabled that, otherwise, would not converge without such a concerted effort.The results from this project will be used to develop a full proposal in 2022 to establish a successful model through the NSF LSAMP STEM Pathways Implementation-Only (SPIO) funding opportunity for recruitment, retention, graduation, and post-graduate success of primarily rural students from historically underrepresented backgrounds in STEM disciplines. By assessing current resources and approaches, we will establish and formalize pathways from rural northern Alabama, rural Mississippi and rural Tennessee in preparation for a full Alliance that will be both responsive and competitive for workforce needs across this tri-state region. This planning grant will enable strategic partnerships that will ultimately strengthen the tri-state's collective economy and infuse the national job market with highly trained STEM professionals who hail from rural settings and will be prepared to make economic and social contributions in STEM fields.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.