A consortium of Michigan universities and community colleges — including U-M — was awarded a five-year, $4.25 million grant by the National Science Foundation to help increase participation and graduation rates among underrepresented minorities in science, technology, engineering, and math fields.
Derrick Scott, director of inclusion and multicultural engineering programs for the Center for Engineering Diversity and Outreach at U-M, has been involved with the consortium for more than a decade. “The overall goal…is to significantly increase the number of minority students earning degrees in STEM fields and to further prepare them for entry into graduate programs or the professional workplace. We want to cultivate a world-class, broadly inclusive science and engineering workforce and expand the scientific literacy of all citizens,” Scott said.
The consortium, the Michigan Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation (MI-LSAMP), includes U-M, Michigan State University, Wayne State University, Western Michigan University, and Mott and Washtenaw community colleges. This is the third time the MI-LSAMP has been awarded the NSF grant, with the previous five-year awards coming in 2005 and 2010.
