The Rocky Mountain Alliance for Minority Participation (RM-AMP, formerly Colorado-Wyoming
AMP) was granted new funding by the National Science Foundation. This grant includes $3
million over the next five years.
RM-AMP, part of the Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation, is a collaborative effort
among higher education institutions across Colorado and Wyoming, as well as several
corporations, government agencies, and American Indian tribes. The organization seeks to
support underrepresented minority students in STEM fields.
With this new funding, RM-AMP has five main goals: promote academic and social support
initiatives, facilitate undergraduate research opportunities, increase STEM transfers from two-
year institutions, prepare students for graduate programs, and enhance outreach to the Native
American community.
At Colorado State University, RM-AMP support inclusive resource centers, tutoring, and
“transfer days” to welcome students from two-year institutions. Recently, the organization has
focused on Native American students through organizations like CSU’s Native American Cultural
Center.
Arlene Nededog, CSU’s site coordinator for RM-AMP, encourages students to pursue RM-AMP’s
research opportunities, or to build their own.
“Students should visit the organization’s website to look for research opportunities” said
Nededog. “They should also know they can develop their own research experiences and apply
for funding as well.”
Joshua Prasad, assistant professor of psychology and RM-AMP’s new co-principal investigator,
is taking the reins in coordinating the alliance.
“We’re trying to serve as a hub between 13 different institutions” he said. RM-AMP’s
cooperative structure allows each participant to share opportunities and resources. “We’re
focusing on what opportunities we can create, how we can be more inclusive, and how we can
be better welcoming of underrepresented knowledge.”
With new funding from the NSF, RM-AMP will continue diversifying the sciences at CSU and in
institutions across Colorado and Wyoming.
