The Louis Stokes Midwest Regional Center of Excellence (LSMRCE) for Broadening Participation in STEM, a partnership of Chicago State University (CSU) and Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis (IU Indianapolis) in collaboration with the Ohio State University (OSU) and Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory (Fermilab), is funded by the National Science Foundation for the purpose of powering the relationship with currently funded Louis Stokes Alliances for Minority Participation (LSAMP) projects and strengthening the existing partnership with non-LSAMP institutions in the Midwest to broaden the participation and representation of underrepresented minority (URM) groups in the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) workforce.
The LSMRCE also aims to become a regional backbone support organization for information dissemination that contributes to the development of the NSF INCLUDES National Network. The LSMRCE will develop, house, and distribute results of regional efforts in the collection, analysis, and assessment of best practices as recommended in the LSAMP model. It will also contribute to fundamental research in the science of broadening participation (BP).