WiscAMP program helps minority students conduct summer research
Released: June 30, 2008
Together with the Wisconsin Alliance for Minority Participation (WiscAMP), the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater is helping raise graduation rates among minorities in the areas of science, technology, engineering and mathematics, areas traditionally under-represented by minorities. WiscAMP provides money to minority students for summer research programs at UW-Whitewater.
The WiscAMP program specifically targets rising minority seniors at UW-Whitewater and Beloit College, as well as older students who are returning to school and students who have started at UW-Rock County and are transferring to UW-Whitewater. The $25,000 grant that WiscAMP provided this summer is extremely vital. "My family often struggles to make ends meet," research participant Gina Castro of Janesville said. "The WiscAMP program allows me to advance my education by training me for a career while providing enough money to support my family."
The grant engages minority undergraduates in part-time paid research assistantships in their science, technology, engineering and mathematics majors. The research projects range from testing water quality at Whitewater Creek to breeding fish and performing spectroscopy on them to find out how coloration is passed down in certain species of fish.
"WiscAMP is helping us expand the pool of talent in the sciences for Wisconsin and Wisconsin employers with students who have hands-on research," Jeff McKinnon, professor of biological sciences and director of the undergraduate research program, said.
WiscAMP provides opportunities to minority students from all over the Midwest. Students hail from as far south as Beloit and as far north as Rochester, Minn., to engage in research projects. Students that benefit from the WiscAMP grant are also encouraged to apply to the McNair Scholars Program, a program that encourages minorities and disadvantaged students to pursue masters and doctoral education.
When the grant money is used in conjunction with the money from the McNair Program money, it enables students who couldn’t previously afford to stay all summer, to stay for the entire summer and conduct research. "When the WiscAMP grants are used in conjunction with the things that the McNair Program offers, students benefit," McKinnon said. "When they are combined, a student can afford to stay here all summer."
WiscAMP is a consortium of 21 colleges and universities throughout Wisconsin that aims to increase the number of underrepresented minorities who receive bachelor's degrees in the science, technology, engineering and mathematics disciplines within five years. In addition to increasing the number of minority graduates, WiscAMP is committed to the more fundamental goal of transforming the culture of institutions to support and sustain diversity at all levels.
- Tom Applegarth,applegartg17@uww.edu
