About
The Southern Central Illinois Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation (SCI-LSAMP) program has formed an alliance in response to the need for a more diverse and skilled technical workforce. That need still exists and is particularly acute in Illinois. The institutions that make up the Alliance include the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (the lead institution), Bradley University, Illinois State University, Illinois Wesleyan University, Southern Illinois University-Carbondale, and Western Illinois University. Through this project, the Alliance will implement activities to improve academic performance, build community, ease transitions from undergraduate to graduate education or careers in STEM. By the end of the project, SCI-LSAMP will have made a transformational impact on numerous students in the central and southern part of Illinois, providing valuable cross-institutional knowledge on effective and sustainable strategies to facilitate seamless transitions and strengthen the persistence and success of all students in STEM, thereby increasing retention and graduation rates.
SCI-LSAMP Model
SCI-LSAMP is modeled around nested learning communities to focus on four main pillars: academic enrichment, professional development, research engagement, and graduate school/career preparation. Central to the learning communities is the integration of activities that focus on the development of the STEM identity of scholars as valuable contributors to their respective fields. Scholars engage in activities at their home institutions as well as with scholars across the Alliance. Faculty and graduate mentors are integral to the program to guide scholars through research during the academic year and during the SCI-LSAMP Summer Research Program. We strive to develop an asset-based model where scholars believe in their abilities, and faculty value the experiences that scholars bring to the learning environment.