West Virginia State University and the Louis Stokes Alliances for Minority Participation
In partnership with nine colleges and universities throughout Kentucky and West Virginia, WVSU and WVSCTC have been awarded a joint grant from the National Science Foundation.
The NSF sponsors the Louis Stokes Alliances for Minority Participation (LSAMP) program "to increase the quality and quantity of students successfully completing science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) baccalaureate degree programs, and to increase the number of students interested in, academically qualifi ed for, and matriculated into programs of graduate study."
West Virginia State University and West Virginia State Community and Technical College will utilize the funding provided by the NSF to make a signifi cant contribution to the mission of attaining a diverse and competitive fi eld of scientists, engineers, and college graduates.
The LSAMP program will be facilitated by the WVSU Center for the Advancement of Science Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (CASTEM). Programming will seek to engage and inspire students to continue successfully in the STEM disciplines, and move on into a globally competitive workforce.
A Call To Action
We at West Virginia State University (WVSU) and West Virginia State Community & Technical College (WVSCTC) well regard the fi ndings of the American council on Education (ACE) that "African American and Hispanic students begin college interested in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) fi elds at rates similar to those of white and Asian-American students, and persist in these fi elds through their third year of study, but do not earn their bachelor’s degrees at the same rate as their peers."
Key Findings of the ACE Study:
- In the 1995-96 academic year, 18.6 percent of African American students and 22.7 percent of Hispanic students began college interested in majoring in STEM fi elds compared with 18 percent of white students and 26.4 percent of Asian American students.
- By the spring of 1998, students in each racial/ethnic group continued to study STEM fi elds at nearly the same rates (56 percent of African-Americans and Hispanics, 57 percent of white and Asian Americans).
- By the spring of 2001, 62.5 percent of African Americans and Hispanics majoring in STEM fi elds attained a bachelor’s degree compared with 94.8 percent of Asian Americans and 86.7 percent of whites.
About Louis Stokes
The Honorable Louis Stokes rose from residing in one of the fi rst federally funded housing projects to serving in the US House of Representatives (DOhio) from 1969-1999. After enlisting in the US Army, Congressman Stokes was graduated from Western Reserve University and Cleveland Marchall College of Law. He argued the seminal "stop and frisk" Terry v. Ohio case in front of the US Supreme Court in 1968, before being elected to a 15- term seat in the US Congress.
Congressman Stokes asks today’s youth to take seriously the followig advice:
"Stay in school. Learn everything you can. Be considerate of others. Be concerned about those who are around you and who are less fortunate than you. Reach back and help those less fortunate than you. Above all, believe in yourself."
