Earlier this year, a five-year, $2.5 million grant was awarded to Donnelly College, along with Dodge City, Garden City and Seward County Community Colleges and Kansas State University, to help underserved students find success in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) educational programs and careers. Funding for the grant originates from the Louis Stokes Alliances for Minority Participation (LSAMP) program of the National Science Foundation.
Donnelly and the four other institutions, which were selected because of the large minority and first-generation-to-college populations they serve, joined together to form KS-LSAMP. KS-LSAMP has, in turn, established “Pathways to STEM,” a program used for expanding recruitment and retention strategies for underrepresented students, including African-Americans, Native Americans and Hispanic students. Specialized activities at critical college transitional periods (high school to college; two-year to four-year institutions; and freshman-to-sophomore transition at four-year institutions) are built into the programming.
Additionally, because a significant number of underrepresented military veterans are enrolled at the partnering institutions, there will be enhanced focus on recruitment and support of veterans in STEM fields. Pathways to STEM will work with veterans’ offices to provide the specific transitional support needed by veterans, such as peer advising and mentoring.
The goal of the program is to double the number of underrepresented students graduating with baccalaureate STEM degrees within the five years of the project. Pathways to STEM is also aligned with the goals of Donnelly’s Strategic Plan, Foresight 2020, the Kansas Board of Regents’ goal to have 60 percent of the Kansas population achieve a postsecondary degree.
Donnelly and the four other institutions, which were selected because of the large minority and first-generation-to-college populations they serve, joined together to form KS-LSAMP. KS-LSAMP has, in turn, established “Pathways to STEM,” a program used for expanding recruitment and retention strategies for underrepresented students, including African-Americans, Native Americans and Hispanic students. Specialized activities at critical college transitional periods (high school to college; two-year to four-year institutions; and freshman-to-sophomore transition at four-year institutions) are built into the programming.
Additionally, because a significant number of underrepresented military veterans are enrolled at the partnering institutions, there will be enhanced focus on recruitment and support of veterans in STEM fields. Pathways to STEM will work with veterans’ offices to provide the specific transitional support needed by veterans, such as peer advising and mentoring.
The goal of the program is to double the number of underrepresented students graduating with baccalaureate STEM degrees within the five years of the project. Pathways to STEM is also aligned with the goals of Donnelly’s Strategic Plan, Foresight 2020, the Kansas Board of Regents’ goal to have 60 percent of the Kansas population achieve a postsecondary degree.