Just the Stats: Science Foundation Program Producing Results: More than 200,000 students from underrepresented populations have so far participated in a program started by the National Science Foundation to increase minority representation in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) disciplines, according to the foundation.
Although official figures have not yet been released on the percentage increase in participation, the Louis Stokes Alliances for Minority Participation (LSAMP) program graduated 25,309 students in the 2006 academic year of which 12,454 were Hispanic students graduating with a bachelor’s degree in a STEM discipline.
LSAMP Program Director A. James Hicks says some of the growth is related to an increase in participating campuses. In 1990-91, before NSF stepped in to support the fledgling program, there were fewer than 4,000 STEM graduates in six “alliances” — a conglomerate of academia, government, industry, and other organizations in various regions. Today, there are 38 alliances across the nation.
