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Closing the Equity Gap: Securing our STEM Education and Workforce Readiness Infrastructure in the Nation's Minority-Serving Institutions

Completed

An ad hoc committee under the oversight of the Board on Higher Education and Workforce (BHEW), in collaboration with the Board on Science Education (BOSE), will undertake a study to examine the goals, aspirations, challenges, and successes of post-secondary institutions that enroll and serve a significant portion of our nation’s African American, Hispanic, Asian-American and Native American STEM graduates-- often collectively referred to as Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs).

Description

An ad hoc committee under the oversight of the Board on Higher Education and Workforce (BHEW), in collaboration with the Board on Science Education (BOSE), will undertake a study to examine the goals, aspirations, challenges, and successes of post-secondary institutions that enroll and serve a significant portion of our nation’s African American, Hispanic, Asian-American and Native American STEM graduates-- often collectively referred to as Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs).

This study will address the following questions:

  1. What are examples of model programs on MSI campuses that have demonstrated strong evidence of success in producing quality STEM graduates, including those models that involve partnerships with other local institutions of higher education, the private sector, or government agencies, and those that model exemplary curricula and lab experiences?
  2. What are the key challenges, obstacles, and opportunities facing MSIs as they continue to produce scientists, engineers and health care providers who are prepared for success in the 21st Century workplace? In particular, what challenges are unique to MSIs (e.g., as a consequence of the demographics of the students they serve, their history of support and funding), and how are these institutions working to address those challenges?
  3. What are the key institutional components for scalability and sustainability of model programs, which may include invested leadership, durable infrastructure, or secure partnerships, and how are they promoting student success?
  4. What public policy interventions are needed to support and sustain efforts on MSI campuses? Which public policy interventions may inhibit these efforts?

The resulting report will provide findings and recommendations to help create the conditions, systems, policies and practices on MSI campuses that propel more students toward degree attainment in STEM fields and toward strong preparation for success in STEM careers.

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Conflict of Interest Disclosure

The Committee includes a balance of members from academia (administrators, faculty, and former minority STEM students), foundations and non-profit organizations, former state and federal policymakers, labor and educational economists, and individuals from business or industry. Nominees were selected to include a number of leaders in biomedical science, technology, engineering, and medicine; established researchers and early career researchers; academic leaders in higher education administration; and those who straddle multiple disciplines and career experiences. These nominations include people who are passionate about examining the evidence around programs and policies that are effective in propelling more minority students toward degree attainment in STEM fields and toward strong preparation for success in STEM careers. Further, the primary and alternate nominees include members of NAS, NAE, and NAM to ensure representation across the National Academies.

The proposed chair, Dr. Kent McGuire, brings a wealth of experience as the President and CEO of the Southern Education Foundation (SEF). The SEF is a non-profit association that focuses on public policy and educational practice from pre-K to higher education in the southern United States. A major focus of SEF’s mission is to support the participation and success of poor and minority students in postsecondary education. In addition to his expertise in the non-profit sector, Dr. McGuire also holds expertise in education administration (former Dean of the College of Education at Temple University) and education policy (former assistant secretary of education under the Clinton administration). Dr. McGuire’s current research interests include organizational change, education finance, and school improvement.

Sponsors

Alfred P. Sloan Foundation

Helmsley Trust

The ECMC Foundation

The Wallace Foundation

W.K. Kellogg Foundation

Staff

Leigh Miles Jackson

Lead

Priyanka Nalamada

Lead

John Veras

Austen Applegate

Irene Ngun

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