MINORITY GRADUATION RATES RISE IN HOUSTON
AREA
AMONG SCIENCES AND ENGINEERING AS RESULT
OF UH-LED CONSORTIUM, NSF GRANTS $5 MILLION TO CONTINUE THIS SUCCESS
HOUSTON, Oct. 1, 2004 –
The University of Houston is paving the way for more minorities
to earn degrees in science, technology, mathematics and engineering
with notable success in a national NSF-sponsored program.
In the last five years, the Houston-Louis Stokes
Alliance for Minority Participation (H-LSAMP), led by UH and consisting
of seven other academic institutions of higher education, is one
of the most successful in the nation and on track to achieve its
goal of increasing the number of underrepresented minority students
who graduate with degrees in science, technology, engineering and
mathematics (STEM) disciplines, according to independent external
evaluators of the National Science Foundation (NSF) program.
Preparing students for entry into graduate programs,
an important goal of H-LSAMP is to increase the number of doctoral
graduates and professors of Hispanic, African-American, Native American
and Pacific Islander descent in STEM fields to ensure that scientific
advancements reflect the needs of all sectors of our society. Established
in 1999, H-LSAMP has been approved for phase II of the program with
another five-year NSF grant in the amount of $5 million, starting
Oct. 1, 2004.
H-LSAMP is charged with a new vision for phase II to serve as a
national model and resource for other academic institutions. Currently,
the University of Houston leads the consortium of six universities
and two community colleges in the H-LSAMP, consisting of UH, Texas
Southern University, UH-Downtown, UH-Victoria, Rice University,
Texas State University, Houston Community College System and San
Jacinto College District. The group also enjoys a good partnership
with Houston Independent School District, which endorses and promotes
H-LSAMP efforts to inform high school students of opportunities
for university study in STEM fields, heavily recruiting eligible
students to attend institutions in the alliance.
“The Houston LSAMP program is one of the most
effective in the country,” said Martin V. Bonsangue, professor
of mathematics at California State University, Fullerton, and an
external evaluator for phase I. “It is on target with its
goal of doubling the number of students who graduate with STEM degrees
in five years from the institutions, which is the goal of the national
NSF program. Very few programs come close to reaching this vision,
and it is among the strongest out of all the LSAMP programs.”
A national program, LSAMP is one of a sequence of
four NSF programs that seek to build productive capacity and output
within institutions with significant enrollments of minority populations
underrepresented within STEM professions. The program requires awardees
to establish meaningful partnerships among academic institutions
in their respective geographic areas and encourages the inclusion
of government agencies and laboratories, industry and professional
organizations.
As the lead institution of the H-LSAMP consortium,
UH will be allocated the highest share of the grant money. Sharing
directorship responsibilities, John L. Bear, dean of the UH College
of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, and Bobby L. Wilson, provost
and senior vice president for academic affairs at Texas Southern
University, are H-LSAMP’s co-directors. Additionally, all
H-LSAMP partners contribute 50 percent more than the one-to-one
match required by NSF nationally.
“The excellence workshops integral to the
program are designed to develop superior problem-solving skills
and are led by upper-level H-LSAMP scholars that also fosters mentoring
relationships,” Bear said. “Financial support also is
available to participating students through stipends for such work
as teaching in the workshops, helping with the Web site and working
in research labs.”
The UH campus, for instance, provides a building
on campus where many students with similar majors and minors at
all levels – from freshmen to seniors – find safe haven
to seek assistance from others in the H-LSAMP program or take advantage
of quiet rooms to concentrate. Workshop instructors also are on
hand and eager to help.
There are many success stories that have come out of the University
of Houston’s H-LSAMP program, including those who have gone
on to become medical students, practicing engineers, high school
science teachers and computer programmers, as well as those embarking
on the pursuit of graduate degrees.
“I graduated from the University of Houston
in May 2004 and am now a medical student at the University of Pennsylvania,”
said Joshua Udoetuk, another recent H-LSAMP participant who earned
a bachelor’s degree from UH’s College of Natural Sciences
and Mathematics. “The research experiences, teaching opportunities
and workshop courses provided by H-LSAMP helped me develop a strong
scientific background, so that I felt totally prepared for medical
school. I feel indebted to UH and to H-LSAMP in particular for supplying
the resources necessary for me to realize my dream of becoming a
doctor.”
Many of these graduates, as well as current students
and LSAMP members from around the nation, will convene at the Fourth
Annual H-LSAMP Conference held October 1-3, 2004, at the University
of Houston. Put on by H-LSAMP, the conference is open to anyone
who wants to register and attend. There will be workshops for various
graduate and undergraduate programs, GRE classes, exhibitors recruiting
students and poster and oral presentations for prizes.
About the University of Houston
The University of Houston, Texas’ premier metropolitan research
and teaching institution, is home to more than 40 research centers
and institutes and sponsors more than 300 partnerships with corporate,
civic and governmental entities. UH, the most diverse research university
in the country, stands at the forefront of education, research and
service with more than 35,000 students.
For more information about H-LSAMP, visit www.hlsamp.uh.edu.
To receive UH science news via e-mail, visit www.uh.edu/admin/media/sciencelist.html.
For more information about UH visit the universitys Newsroom at www.uh.edu/admin/media/newsroom.
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