The Colorado-Wyoming Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation (CO-WY AMP), with its sixteen institutions of higher education, is a proud member of the National Science Foundation’s framework of colleges and universities that comprise the LSAMP network. NSF funding for the Colorado Alliance began in 1996, and in October 2016, CO-AMP became CO-WY AMP with the addition of two Wyoming partners: University of Wyoming and Central Wyoming College. The Alliance is a consortium of institutions committed to increasing the quality of education for underrepresented minorities (URM) in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) fields and has built an infrastructure for collaborative programs and activities across partner institutions. Since its inception, CO-WY AMP has significantly increased the number of URM students matriculating and graduating in STEM majors. CO-WY AMP partners have developed programs that integrated URM students into college life, initiated early STEM advising and mentoring, enhanced state-of-the-art interventions to increase the number and graduation rate of URM STEM students, and increased communication of effective programming across institutions.

CO-WY AMP also has associations with several American Indian tribes including the Southern Ute, Ute Mountain Ute, Northern Arapaho, and Eastern Shoshone. Of the sixteen partner institutions, six are Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs), and one Native American-Serving Non-Tribal Institution (NASNTI). CO-WY AMP also has associations with numerous corporations, governmental agencies, professional membership organizations, and community groups. These collaborations continue to provide the Alliance with both insight into the ever-changing direction of technology and offer career opportunities and internships to underrepresented minority students. 

Our Mission

To increase the number of students from historically underrepresented populations (URM: African American, Hispanic, Native American, Alaska Native, and Pacific Islander) in Colorado and Wyoming who persist to baccalaureate degree completion in STEM disciplines, with the goal of increasing the number and quality of URM students prepared to succeed in graduate education and contribute to a global and technologically driven workforce.

CO-WY AMP Objectives

  • Increase URM retention and subsequent attainment of STEM baccalaureate degrees.
  • 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.
  • Facilitate pure and applied undergraduate research experiences both domestic and international and develop summer research experiences at both 2-year and 4-year institutions.
  • Expand the number of URM students preparing for and matriculating into STEM graduate programs.
  • Develop and disseminate High Impact Practices meant to achieve these objectives.