Seven of the 10 institutions that make up the Lower Hudson Valley Catholic Colleges and Universities Consortium in New York are sharing in a $3.5 million five-year grant that will bring more opportunities to underrepresented students.
The money being distributed through the National Science Foundation (NSF) comes from the Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation Program (LSAMP) that’s specifically earmarked for science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) programs.
The goal of the new program is two-fold: one, to educate students who otherwise might not have gone to college, and two, to provide a pipeline of skilled professionals to join a workforce that has a growing need in those fields.
It’s a win-win for students and for future employees and employers, and it’s a good fit for the mission of Catholic education.
“We see this work as integral to our missions as Catholic institutions of higher education — serving our communities, expanding access to high quality, values-driven education and working together toward the betterment of society,” said Gina Florio, dean of the School of Arts and Sciences at Molloy University. “The grant is mission in action.”
Molloy is leading the initiative in the Hudson Valley consortium that includes Manhattan College, Mount Saint Mary College, St. Francis College, St. John’s University, St. Joseph’s University New York and St. Thomas Aquinas College.
“We led the initiative because President James Lentini and I believed it would be a unique opportunity to collaborate with other Catholic colleges and universities,” said Donald Mitchell Jr., Molloy’s vice president for diversity, equity and inclusion, and director for the consortium’s LSAMP program. “I was familiar with the LSAMP program, and President Lentini currently leads the consortium. Once we discussed the idea, we presented it to the other member institutions, and we quickly began planning our proposal to the NSF.”
The grant is named after the late U.S. Representative Louis Stokes, the first African-American congressman elected from Ohio, and who served from 1969 to 1999. A prominent attorney and politician, he was a founding member of the Congressional Black Caucus and was deeply involved in civil rights and social justice issues.
Enrolling in the program
As the lead institution, Molloy manages the grant funds and hosts the program and coordinates with representatives from the other members.
Students apply directly to the college of their choice. Applicants must be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident with good academic standing and be a member of an historically underrepresented group in STEM. That includes Blacks and African-Americans, Hispanic and Latino Americans, American Indians, Alaska natives, native Hawaiians and Pacific islanders.
“While politics and legislation like affirmative action, Brown v. Board of Education and the Civil Rights Act have made progress, there is still work to be done to ensure all populations are properly represented in STEM,” Mitchell said. “The NSF acknowledges this history and the importance of educating a diverse society, which is why they support programs like LSAMP. Such programs provide funding to help institutions move forward toward a society that thrives on diversity and equity.”
Alisha McCorvey is assistant vice president for students, diversity, equity and inclusion, and chief diversity officer at Mount Saint Mary College. Evan Merkhofer is interim vice president for academic affairs. Their offices collaborate to identify students who meet the criteria for acceptance.
“We will also identify first-year and transfer students who will benefit from enrolling in this program,” Merkhofer said. “To that end, we have established an application process and every student who has applied will be interviewed by members of the consortium and will need to be accepted into the program by the consortium, not solely the Mount.”
Diversity and innovation
McCorvey noted that there’s a general shortage of qualified individuals to fill the increasing need for positions in the STEM professions.
“Strengthening the pathway will be critical in ameliorating this challenge, especially in the New York area where there are many opportunities for graduating students in these fields,” she said. “The LSAMP programs will help provide the resources to underrepresented students to guide them on their path to success, and to diversity in the STEM workforce.”
“That diversity is paramount as it drives innovation. Research has shown that diverse teams develop more and better solutions to complex problems, and do so more quickly, leveraging the various experiences, worldview and creativity of the individuals.”
Gina Florio
Florio noted that the career opportunities in the targeted sector are particularly outpacing the mainstays of the New York economy, such as finance and real estate. Furthermore, the STEM sector on average offers higher paying jobs. Diversity, though, is still lagging behind.
“That diversity is paramount as it drives innovation,” she said. “Research has shown that diverse teams develop more and better solutions to complex problems, and do so more quickly, leveraging the various experiences, worldview and creativity of the individuals. Our work will help drive innovation and foster creativity in the STEM workforce of tomorrow.”
An example to other colleges
For the most part, the colleges already have the brick and mortar means to support the program. For instance, at Mount Saint Mary College, expansion will be directed at providing additional resources, more research opportunities, support for student attendance and presentation at regional and national conferences, expanding the tutoring program, implementing a peer mentoring and coaching program, and more.
There also will be career support and graduate school application support to help more students from underrepresented populations to continue into STEM graduate programs and careers. Those efforts are typical of what the other institutions will offer.
“The program could serve as a case study of how other institutions with similar characteristics might fortify STEM pipelines for underrepresented minority students within their institutional contexts.”
James Lentini
“This grant proposal was a true collaborative effort,” said Andy Burns, executive director of centralized advising and campus CO-PI at Manhattan College. “All institutions involved are passionate about the opportunities for underrepresented students in STEM. The funding will allow us to leverage some of our existing structures and explore new ways to support the outcomes and success of the students. We will coordinate intentional programming through the campus for participants to engage in activities that align with the overarching goals of the LSAMP project.”
The consortium will work collaboratively to achieve those goals of increasing enrollment and improving first to second year retention. They also will focus on fostering strong STEM/scientist identities through STEM enrichment activities and supporting successful entry into graduate study and STEM careers.
Molloy president Lentini noted that their work developing the mission of the grant can be an example for other Catholic colleges and universities in geographically diverse areas.
“The program could serve as a case study of how other institutions with similar characteristics might fortify STEM pipelines for underrepresented minority students within their institutional contexts,” he said.
