Marine Science Laboratory Alliance Center of Excellence (MarSci-LACE)

Marine Science Laboratory Alliance Center of Excellence

Visit the MarSci-LACE website
(External site)


About MarSci-LACE

Co-funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation (LSAMP) and Inclusion across the Nation of Communities of Learners of Underrepresented Discoverers in Engineering and Science (NSF INCLUDES)

The Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation (LSAMP): Marine Science Laboratory Alliance Center of Excellence (MarSci-LACE) opens doors into marine science research, education and careers for underrepresented, minority students.

LSAMP MarSci-LACE is a nexus training, resource, and supporting partner to other independent marine research institutions, degree-granting institutions, LSAMP students, and science mentors and faculty, with goals to:

  • Provide unique and authentic research and training opportunities to underrepresented, minority students that go beyond the training received by traditional degree-granting institutions.
  • Increase the number and preparedness of underrepresented minority students earning undergraduate degrees in marine sciences and related natural resources fields.
  • Create resources and develop best practices to share among students, academic faculty, and independent marine research institution staff to improve academic and career retention and success in the marine sciences.
  • Show the vital role that independent marine research institutions play in academic and early career recruitment, retention, and success.

Mentor Development Workshops

The MarSci-LACE developed Mentor Development Workshop (MDW) is a five-hour workshop that interactively engages potential Undergraduate Research Experience mentors through the following five training modules: Introduction to Mentoring, Psychosocial Factors of Internships, Ally Skills, Culturally Responsive Mentoring and Mentor Plan Development. These MDW training modules provide an overview of mentorship, emphasizing its mutual benefits for both the mentor and the mentee. Workshop participants will receive tools and resources for use in their own mentorship. Mentors of every level will find value in participating.

  • Host a Workshop: Workshops are led by trained facilitators and are offered to organizations, institutions and individuals engaged in or preparing to be undergraduate research mentors. Facilitators are available to host in-person workshops at your institution for up to 30 faculty and staff.
  • Become a Facilitator: Mote Marine Laboratory in Sarasota, Florida will be hosting a Train-the-Trainer workshop for professionals interested in becoming MDW facilitators. Participants will learn how to facilitate an MDW for their own institution. This will be a two-day, all-expenses-covered workshop.
  • Should you have any questions, please get in touch via contactus@marscilace.org.

Meet the MarSci-LACE team

MarSci-LACE is led by the independent, nonprofit Mote Marine Laboratory and was founded in 2019 through a National Science Foundation (NSF) grant to Mote, the only non-academic institution to receive an LSAMP Center of Excellence award. It is with co-funded by the NSF Inclusion across the Nation of Communities of Learners of Underrepresented Discoverers in Engineering and Science (NSF INCLUDES) initiative. Mote’s President & CEO, Dr. Michael P. Crosby, is the Principal Investigator with responsibility for overall project administration and oversight, ensuring the sustainability of MarSci-LACE as a long-term national asset. Mote's Assistant Vice President for Education, Aly Busse, is a Co-Principal Investigator and the Program Coordinator for all aspects of MarSci-LACE. Partners include the The College of the Florida Keys, State College of Florida, Manatee-Sarasota (SCF), Smithsonian Marine Science Station, and Perry Institute for Marine Science.

LSAMP MarSci-LACE builds on Mote's unique model for undergraduate research experiences and will strategically leverage specialized, non-degree-granting, marine-STEM-research institutions to engage with LSAMP universities. MarSci-LACE will also provide opportunities for participating faculty to engage in experiential teaching and learning opportunities while providing critical hands-on internship experiences for students.

MarSci-LACE is supported by NSF Award Number 1922351.

For more information: contactus@marscilace.org.

More information about MarSci-LACE

Visit marscilace.org (external site).

About LSAMP

LSAMP is an alliance-based program whose overall goal is to assist universities and colleges in diversifying the nation's science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) workforce by increasing the number of STEM baccalaureate and graduate degrees awarded to populations historically underrepresented in these disciplines: African Americans, Hispanic Americans, American Indians, Alaska Natives, Native Hawaiians, and Native Pacific Islanders.