Project led by:

Paul Jensen, PhD, Provost
Aroutis Foster, PhD
Stephen Cox 

Drexel University is leading the Louis Stokes STEM Pathways and Research Alliance to intensify its ongoing efforts to substantially increase the quantity and quality of African American, Hispanic or Latino, Native American, and Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander students receiving baccalaureate degrees in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM), and subsequently, entering graduate school to attain doctoral degrees. Philadelphia AMP represents a diverse alliance of public and private, 2- and 4-year, research and non-research, Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and majority institutions.  

In this project, the Alliance proposes to accomplish the following programmatic objectives:

• Increase student engagement, retention, and progression to STEM baccalaureate degrees for underrepresented racial and ethnic groups;
• Increase intra-and inter -institutional partnerships and collaborations, including community college connectivity enabling the successful transfer of underrepresented students from 2-year to 4-year institutions in STEM programs, as well as partnerships / collaborations with other NSF and/or other federally funded programs;
• Increase student access to high quality STEM mentoring, and national and international undergraduate research experiences;
• Facilitate seamless transition of underrepresented students into STEM graduate programs;
• Enhance documentation of student accomplishments and movement to graduate study and /or industry; and
• Stimulate, document, publish, and disseminate new research and learning on broadening participation in STEM disciplines.

The proposed project has significant potential for: 1) enhancing intra- and inter-institutional partnerships, research collaborations, and articulation strategies between community colleges, HBCU and Ph.D. granting universities, nationally and internationally; 2) enhancing the integration of research and education, in particular at HBCU institutions; and 3) promoting the fulfillment of the Grand Challenges identified by the National Academies of Engineering by engaging students in research designed to address real-life societal needs; and 4) advancing knowledge of information about best practices used to promote the STEM degree training and retention of underrepresented minority students.