[hr]Mississippi Democratic Congressman Bennie G. Thompson recently announced that the National Science Foundation (NSF) has awarded $4 million to Jackson State University and an alliance of Mississippi institutions of higher learning to help train minorities for careers in STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics).
JSU is the lead institution of the Louis Stokes Mississippi Alliance for Minority Participation (LSMAMP) Pathways Alliance. Other collaborators are Alcorn State University, Delta State University, Hinds Community College, Mississippi State University, Mississippi Valley State University, Tougaloo College, University of Mississippi and University of Southern Mississippi.
LSMAMP is helping to addresses a statewide and national demand for STEM workers. According to the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology, the U.S. needs an additional one million graduates in various fields over the next decade.
In response, the Mississippi alliance is recruiting and supporting underrepresented and disadvantaged minority students throughout the state.
JSU President William B. Bynum Jr. praises the efforts of institutions and leaders to fulfill an important need.
“We are thankful to the National Science Foundation and U.S. Rep. Bennie Thompson for our recent award of $4 million,” Bynum said. “These funds will assist us in continuing our work of preparing economically disadvantaged students for STEM fields.”
Dr. Martha Tchounwou of JSU is the statewide program manager of LSMAMP.
“For nearly a quarter of a century, the Louis Stokes Mississippi Alliance for Minority Participation has played a significant role in educating minority students in STEM,” Tchounwou said. “The new funding provides us with an excellent opportunity to continue to recruit, train, retain and graduate underrepresented minority students and make a significant impact on workforce development in Mississippi and throughout the U.S.”