Ernest Chavez - US grants

This study will investigate the relationship between dropping out and drug use among Mexican-American youth. Half of all Hispanics in the U.S. are Mexican-Americans, and they are the fastest growing and one of the youngest minority groups. They have a school dropout rate as high as 45% in some locations. Both Anglo and Mexican-American dropouts from three southwestern school districts will be studied. Included will be youth from a large city, a medium sized city and a smaller community. Each dropout will be matched with two control subjects. One comparison subject will be an "at-risk" youth matched for grade, gender, ethnicity, age, and grade-point average during the last full year of school. The other will be a "non-dropout", matched only for grade, gender and ethnicity. Youth will be asked to take a questionnaire that includes detailed drug use information, and that assesses social, psychological, and cultural characteristics along with violence and victimization. Analyses will examine the relationship between social, cultural, and psychological factors, drug use, and dropping out. Follow-up data will be collected from dropout and control subjects three years after dropout to determine attrition rates and drug use, social, psychological and cultural characteristics of found and not found subjects to assess feasibility of a cohort longitudinal study.

Half the population of southwestern U.S. will soon be Hispanic. Hispanic youth in low income/high minority residential areas in southwestern cities can have very high rates of drug use, and there can be very high rates of delinquency. There are, however, no data on the links between drug use and delinquency for urban Hispanic youth. This study will use a school- based survey to explore the relationship between drug use and delinquency in a typical large southwestern city. It will examine how rates differ across age groups, and how delinquency and peer drug associations, peer deviance, family relationships, school adjustment, tolerance of deviance, anger, self-esteem, and cultural identification. It will determine whether path analyses differ for Hispanic and minority youth and whether these differences relate to type of residential area. Study of a random sample of arrested youth will determine, by urinalysis, recent drug use of arrested youth. Questionnaires will allow comparison of urinalysis results with self-report, and determine how arrested Hispanic and non- minority youth differ from each other and from non-arrested youth in drug use, delinquency, and the above listed psychosocial characteristics.

This study will be a longitudinal investigation of the relationship between dropping out and drug use among Mexican-American youth. It is a follow-up to a study of Mexican-American dropouts that has obtained baseline data on 1653 subjects. This proposal will (1) continue collection of baseline data for another five years and (2) obtain follow-up data on current baseline subjects and an additional 1450 subjects whose baseline data will be obtained during the first two years of this proposed project. Subjects will be followed into the earliest stages of young adulthood to determine how drug use interacts with psychological, social, and cultural characteristics to influence the short-term outcome of dropouts and academically at-risk youth. Outcomes include subsequent substance use, cultural identification, self-esteem and emotional distress, HIV risk behaviors, school retention, a return to school and GED, and work adjustment comparisons will be made between Mexican-American and Anglo dropouts, academically at-risk youth, and controls. This is the first stage in what is planned to become a long-term longitudinal study of dropouts.

racial /ethnic difference; Mexican Americans; Native Americans; adolescence (12-20); drug abuse; student dropouts; violence; psychological stressor; culture; peer group; academic achievement; longitudinal human study; alcoholic beverage consumption; juvenile delinquency; disease /disorder proneness /risk; drug abuse prevention; secondary schools; family structure /dynamics; health surveys; social psychology; criminal behavior; caucasian American; socializations; behavioral /social science research tag; human subject; clinical research;

This study will be a longitudinal investigation of the relationship between dropping out and drug use among Mexican-American youth. It is a follow-up to a study of Mexican-American dropouts that has obtained baseline data on 1653 subjects. This proposal will (1) continue collection of baseline data for another five years and (2) obtain follow-up data on current baseline subjects and an additional 1450 subjects whose baseline data will be obtained during the first two years of this proposed project. Subjects will be followed into the earliest stages of young adulthood to determine how drug use interacts with psychological, social, and cultural characteristics to influence the short-term outcome of dropouts and academically at-risk youth. Outcomes include subsequent substance use, cultural identification, self-esteem and emotional distress, HIV risk behaviors, school retention, a return to school and GED, and work adjustment comparisons will be made between Mexican-American and Anglo dropouts, academically at-risk youth, and controls. This is the first stage in what is planned to become a long-term longitudinal study of dropouts.

DESCRIPTION: (Applicant's Abstract) This is a proposal to continue collecting follow up data on Mexican American and White non-Hispanic young adults, including high school dropouts. Information will be obtained on individual's substance use, ethnic/cultural identification, job/work history, and other psychosocial data in order to compare their previous responses to their current self reported behaviors. This proposal will follow students on whom data was collected in 1994, 1995, and 1996. The total follow up sample size will be 2829 and includes 319 subjects from year 5 and 670 subjects from years 6 and 7.

A-1
Louis Stokes Colorado Alliance for Minority Participation
CO-AMP Phase III Project Summary
Colorado State University (CSU) in collaboration with the University of Colorado at Boulder, Fort Lewis
College, Colorado State University at Pueblo, Metropolitan State College of Denver, the University of Colorado at
Colorado Springs, the University of Colorado at Denver, Colorado School of Mines, Adams State College, Trinidad
State Junior College, Pueblo Community College, Din College, AIMS Community College, four tribal nations, and
industry constitute part of the CO-AMP consortium that was formed in 1995/96. The consortium is proposing COAMP
Phase III that will undertake a comprehensive effort to address the following activities in connection with
under-represented students in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) disciplines:
Recruitment, retention & leadership programs
Longitudinal tracking
Summer outreach programs Graduate school placement
The primary goal of the LS CO-AMP Phase III Proposal is to continue increasing the number of
underrepresented minority students successfully completing baccalaureates degrees in STEM disciplines in
Colorado.
Phase III of CO-AMP will build upon the momentum and the success of LS CO-AMP, which began in
1995. The underrepresented students (Hispanic, African American, Native American, and Pacific Islanders) who are
enrolled in the undergraduate STEM degree programs at the participating institutions will benefit greatly from the
proposed activities. The efforts of the Consortium will extend from the pre-freshmen level to enrollment in graduate
school programs. The CO-AMP consortium has been the major driving force at the institutions involved since 1995
to encourage and motivate students to excel and graduate with a B.S. degree in the STEM fields. The enrollment and
visibility of diverse students has increased at the participating institutions which is demonstrated by the 68%
increase in the LS CO-AMP enrollment since its inception. Student performance in their respective disciplines has
improved tremendously. A significant level of support, in addition to that from the NSF, has been provided by the
central administrations, the Departments and Colleges of the Consortium institutions, Industry, and the Colorado
Institute of Technology. Very importantly, the faculty and staff members of the Consortium institutions have
provided essential support without which the activities of LS CO-AMP could not have been so successful. CO-AMP
participating institutions, industry, tribal councils and the Colorado Commission on Higher Education are expected
to continue their support of the project from 2006 to 2011. The success of this consortium will continue to be shared
with the other LS AMPs in the nation. In addition, CO-AMP will work with the Alliance for Graduate Education
and the Professoriate (AGEP) to place more underrepresented students in STEM graduate studies.
By linking the resources of the Consortium institutions and partners and by continuing ongoing efforts to
solicit funding from all available sources, LS CO-AMP will continue to promote institutionalizing the successful
programs it has developed within the Consortium institutions. This is essential to assure that the benefits to
students, which occur from these programs, continue after funding from the NSF is no longer available.
Intellectual Merit
Colorado LS CO AMP is looking to continue increasing the number of underrepresented undergraduate
students graduating with a Bachelors Degree in STEM disciplines. In addition, LS CO-AMP Phase III is planning
to matriculate underrepresented (UREP) students into graduate school to ensure a future balance of the
representation of minority students in STEM graduate disciplines. During Phase III, the Consortium will work
toward institutionalizing and sustaining its program activities after the NSF Funding expires. LS CO-AMP has had
considerable success during Phase I and II, and the Consortiums success will be amplified during the proposed LS
CO-AMP Phase III project. The anticipated successful collaboration with the Colorado Commission on Higher
Education, the legislature, and congressional representatives, will strengthen the sustainability of LS CO-AMP in the
State of Colorado.
Broader Impact
Through the assessment of the activities and the collaboration of LS CO-AMP with other alliances such as
AGEP, McNair Scholarships Program, and Rocky Mountain Middle School Math Science Partnership, LS CO AMP
plans to increase awareness of cultural differences and necessary institutional changes to positively sustain support
of UREP STEM undergraduate and graduate students after NSF funding expires. Moreover, the results of the Phase
III programs and activities will add substantially to the understanding of the issues and the challenges of UREP
students in graduate and undergraduate STEM disciplines. The focus of LS CO-AMP Phase III is to continue the
recruitment and the retention activities of Phase I and Phase II, as well as to matriculate the UREP undergraduate
students into graduate school. This commitment to graduate education will produce more UREP STEM faculty
members who, in turn, will help in bringing more diverse students to the classroom. It will also enable effective and
sustainable institutional transformation to enhance diversity in STEM disciplines. In addition, this diversity
commitment will improve the overall climate for UREP students in the State of Colorado and nationwide.

Colorado State University Louis Stokes Alliances for Minority Participating (CO-AMP) will build on the successes of the existing Bridge to the Doctorate (BD)program to support effective academic, mentoring and social networks among underrepresented minority (URM) graduate students in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) disciplines.

The Graduate Center for Diversity and Access at Colorado State University will offer opportunities through the entire professional development journey, from matriculation to STEM doctoral completion and successful job placement and re-affiliation with the ystem as alumni.

The comprehensive program will recruit and matriculate LSAMP students into PhD STEM programs with an emphasis on recruitment from national LSAMP programs; ensure BD student retention and interest in the professoriate by creating a BD network that builds social and academic support systems; provide student-centered activities and mentoring programs. The programs will be infused with content regarding the importance of URM presence in faculties that will include mentoring workshops to faculty advisors as well as support for successful placement of BD students in the workforce with an emphasis on appointments within the professoriate.

The program include a rigorous evaluation to collect formative and summative data for program improvements and comprehensive analyses. Findings will be disseminated at regional, state and national diversity conferences and in related journals.

This project is providing twenty-five scholarships per semester to academically talented and financially needy students pursuing Bachelor's degrees in engineering, computer science engineering, or an Associate's degree in science. Various support services and associated student activities are enhancing the academic experience of the scholarship recipients. The project has identified a specific opportunity to prepare students to meet the demands of the high technology industries in its region. Thus it features strong interactions with companies in the area that offer internship and mentoring opportunities for the scholars. The intellectual merit of the project lies in its leveraging of prior successful projects that offer existing student support structures that help to promote academic quality in the targeted STEM disciplines. The project's broader impacts are felt through activities such as field trips and participation in professional societies, that supplement the students' regular classroom interactions so as to maintain their interest in the STEM disciplines. The project also is striving to award forty percent of its scholarships to groups traditionally underrepresented in the STEM disciplines so as to promote a more diverse workforce. In the long term the project is benefiting society by increasing the number of highly skilled, well-educated members in the high-tech workforce.

Colorado State University (CSU), the lead institution, in collaboration with fourteen institutional
partners constitutes the CO-AMP consortium. The Consortium is proposing a strategic and
comprehensive effort to address the following goals in connection with underrepresented minorities,
women of color, and persons with disabilities successfully completing baccalaureate degrees in Science,
Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM):
1) Continue to increase bachelor degree completion in STEM disciplines;
2) Improve retention and transfer rates from 2-year to 4-year institutions;
3) Enhance partnerships with Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSI) in Colorado;
4) Strengthen graduate school preparation;
5) Promote international research experiences to enhance global diversity and understanding.
Since its inception, efforts of the CO-AMP Consortium have extended from the pre-freshmen
level to enrollment in graduate school programs. The Consortium has been a major driving force at
partner institutions to encourage and motivate students to excel and graduate with a bachelor?s. degree in
STEM fields. The enrollment and visibility of diverse students has also increased, demonstrated by the
recent 84% increase in LS CO-AMP enrollment. A significant level of support, in addition to that from
the NSF, has been provided by central administrations, Departments and Colleges of the Consortium,
and industry partners. Most importantly, the Consortium faculty and staff have provided individualized
student support without which the activities would not have been as successful.
Most, if not all, of the proposed initiatives in goals 1 through 5 have been and will continue to be
institutionalized at partner institutions. Early integration of minority students into college life must start in
the admissions office with early faculty advising and mentoring linked to the process. Proposed math skill
building and science course assistance will be continued and further expanded. Student academic
advancement will also be enhanced by participation in NAPIRE and other international research
experiences, contributing to global diversity and understanding. In addition, further establishment of
professional societies at 2-year and 4-year colleges is critical to increasing science identity and
integration into the professional community. This collaboration of national resources, resulting from these
diverse programs, is essential to assure benefits to underrepresented minorities, women of color, and
person with disabilities; and will be sustained as an essential structure continuing after funding from the
NSF is no longer available.
Intellectual Merit
Innovative programs based on the Tinto Model and research results from the Higher Education
Research Institute (HERI) will target improved academic and social integration of students into college life
and promote students? self-identity as scientists. CO-AMP will integrate math assistance and curricula
between 2-year and 4-year institutions. Pipelines between high school, 2-year/4-year colleges, and
graduate school will be integrated by faculty mentoring into the admissions process, establishing
professional societies on campuses, and building bridges through innovative summer workshops,
research at 2-year and 4-year campuses, and international research experiences. Evaluation efforts will
provide evidence-based methodologies for improving student retention. CO-AMP has a history of qualified staff, as well as the facilities, networks, and partnerships in place to focus on
building a stronger infrastructure that will continue to build capacity and compatibility in the Consortium.
Broader Impacts
The programs and activities CO-AMP will undertake cover the core areas of recruitment and
retention, including training of faculty, promotion of proven programs, support from industry involvement,
as well as conducting research to determine best practice in preparing students for higher levels of math
and science. CO-AMP is partnered with all of the Hispanic Serving Institutions in Colorado and Fort
Lewis (one of only three Native American-Serving Non-Tribal Colleges in the US) making it optimally
positioned to serve the greatest number of Hispanic and Native American students. Results of research
conducted will be presented at conferences and published to further knowledge in this important area of
diversity education. The results will reduce educational disparities and improve scientific knowledge in
minority/tribal communities, as trained minority scientists act as role models and educators.

? DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): This project is a collaboration between Front Range Community College (FRCC), the largest enrollment community college in Colorado, and Colorado State University (CSU), meant to increase the enrollment of underrepresented students transferring from FRCC to CSU in the Behavioral and Biomedical fields. It is also meant to increase retention and graduation rates for these students. This will be accomplished through a three point plan: 1) Class impediments to transfer students will be remedied. Two gateway classes currently not offered at FRCC will be targeted. 2) The development of a specific position meant to enhance the interaction between existing advising and mentoring systems within the two organizations, and 3) to create a Community College research undergraduate experience (REU) specifically developed for FRCC students and made available in the summer in order to involve FRCC students in research experiences early in their Bachelor's career.

The Louis Stokes Alliances for Minority Participation (LSAMP) program assists universities and colleges in their efforts to significantly increase the numbers of students matriculating into and successfully completing high quality degree programs in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) disciplines in order to diversify the STEM workforce. Particular emphasis is placed on transforming undergraduate STEM education through innovative, evidence-based recruitment and retention strategies, and relevant educational experiences in support of racial and ethnic groups historically underrepresented in STEM disciplines: African Americans, Hispanic Americans, American Indians, Alaska Natives, Native Hawaiians, and Native Pacific Islanders. These strategies facilitate the production of well-prepared students highly-qualified and motivated to pursue graduate education or careers in STEM.

For the United States (U.S.) to remain globally competitive, it is vital that it taps into the talent of all its citizens and provides exceptional educational preparedness in STEM areas that underpin the knowledge-based economy. The Colorado LSAMP (CO-AMP), which began in 1995, is expanding its alliance to include two new partners in Wyoming to become the Colorado-Wyoming Alliance for Minority Participation (CO-WY AMP). This consortium of sixteen institutions is a unique reconstituted alliance with an urban/rural dichotomy, encompassing a distance of 550 miles between two states. CO-WY AMP will continue to work tirelessly to increase the representation of underrepresented students in the Western U.S. by preparing them to excel in an economically competitive global workforce.

CO-WY AMP will use Engagement, Capacity and Continuity: A Trilogy for Student Success (ECC Trilogy) as a model to advance students in the sciences and quantitative disciplines on all partner campuses, which include two research-intensive universities, five high research universities, three comprehensive universities, one liberal arts college, and five community colleges. The three factors of the ECC Trilogy are defined as: engaging the student both academically and socially to foster positive attitudes and increase subject mastery (Engagement); preparing the student for fundamental knowledge necessary to advance (Capacity); and providing access that offers resources necessary for advancement (Continuity). CO-WY AMP will apply the trilogy model through the following goals:
1) Increase retention and subsequent attainment of baccalaureate degrees;
2) Increase the quality and quantity of students transferring from 2-year to 4-year institutions by providing skill-building interventions to strengthen students' mathematical knowledge and Summer Bridge experiences to enrich STEM achievement;
3) Facilitate pure and applied undergraduate research experiences both domestic and international and develop summer research experiences at both 2 and 4-year institutions; and
4) Expand capacity for preparation and matriculation into graduate programs.

The knowledge generating research study, namely "the Mathematics Research Study", seeks to understand ultimately whether the algebra skills of community college students could be improved using cognitively-guided and self-reflective supplemental materials outside of the classroom environment. The materials will be developed collaboratively by community college algebra instructors, a mathematics education specialist, and a cognitive specialist.

The Louis Stokes Alliances for Minority Participation (LSAMP) program assists universities and colleges in diversifying the STEM workforce through their efforts at significantly increasing the numbers of students successfully completing high quality degree programs in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) disciplines. Particular emphasis is placed on transforming STEM education through innovative recruitment and retention strategies and experiences in support of groups underrepresented in STEM disciplines: African-Americans, Alaskan Natives, American Indians, Hispanic Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Native Pacific Islanders. The Rocky Mountain Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation (RM-LSAMP), formerly known as the CO-WY LSAMP, has been successful in increasing the number of baccalaureate degrees earned by students from populations underrepresented in STEM and will now be a new STEM Pathways and Research Alliance with important representation of Hispanic American and Native American students. The RM-LSAMP will continue to grow the successful program that has been supported by LSAMP funding since 1995. The RM-LSAMP Alliance consists of 13 institutions: Colorado State University, University of Colorado Boulder, University of Denver, University of Colorado Denver, University of Northern Colorado, Colorado School of Mines (Doctoral Universities), Adams State University, Colorado State University – Pueblo (Master’s Universities), Fort Lewis College, Metropolitan State University of Denver (Baccalaureate Colleges), Central Wyoming College, Otero College, and Trinidad State College (Associate’s Colleges). The institutions are both urban and rural, including all the Minority Serving Institutions in Colorado with six HSIs and two Native American-Serving, Nontribal Institutions. The overall goal of the Alliance is to increase the number of students from underrepresented groups earning baccalaureate degrees in STEM. The program focuses on academic and social support for students across the Alliance, with several specific interventions being developed with joint institutional efforts. The emphasis on opportunities for student research includes a First Nations Initiative in support of summer research experiences for Native Americans, and international experiences, with a goal of increasing the number of students participating in research. There is also an emphasis on increasing the number of students transferring from two to four-year institutions. Alliance activities will also be focused on preparing students for graduate programs in STEM.<br/><br/>The Alliance’s research will generate knowledge through two research projects to investigate the relevance of the Goal Congruity Model for understanding entry into and persistence in STEM fields by students from populations underrepresented in STEM. The research studies include both a quantitative study of Native American high school students, as well as a qualitative study of students from populations underrepresented in STEM participating in summer research. It is hypothesized that the Goal Congruity Model explains some of the variance in the participation gaps in STEM by students underrepresented in STEM, and thus could provide suggestions for interventions directed at the individual, the academy, and the workplace. The student academic and professional development interventions implemented in this project will have transferable value for STEM students and other institutions worldwide. Long-lasting impact from outcomes achieved will create a more diverse and inclusive environment on college campuses and in the STEM workforce. Ultimately, the Rocky Mountain Alliance will contribute significantly to preserving and improving the United States’ competitiveness in overcoming key global technology, health, and economic development challenges.<br/><br/>This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.