AAAS Annual Meeting Symposium, Feb. 20, 2010
American Association for the Advancement of ScienceDemonstrating the Legal Sustainability of
Effective STEM Diversity Programs
AAAS Annual Meeting
San Diego, CA
February 20, 2010
Daryl E. Chubin
AAAS Capacity Center
Jamie Lewis Keith
University of Florida
Melinda W. Grier
University of Oregon
Shirley M. Malcom
EHR, AAAS
Steven Winnick
EducationCounsel, LLC
Wanda E. Ward
National Science Foundation
AAAS Annual Meeting Symposium, Feb. 20, 2010
The National Imperative to Increase Faculty & Student Diversity in STEM Higher Education
• Origins of this Symposium:
• Problem Thread
• National Context
• Legal Approaches—on campus & off
• Academic & Policy Approaches
• A Sponsor’s Perspective
AAAS Annual Meeting Symposium, Feb. 20, 2010
Richard Florida’s The Creative Class:Leveraging Talent, not Technology Alone
“The university is perhaps the single most important institution of the creative age. It's certainly what gave the U.S. its huge edge in the 20th century, by virtue of attracting the best and the brightest from all around the world. Unfortunately, . . . the single biggest problem with all universities these days is their apparent inability—and in some cases blatant disinterest—in educating our population broadly across all social, economic, and ethnic demographics.”
. . . technology, tolerance, talent
source: www.fastcompany.com/articles/2005/11/fastcities_florida.html
AAAS Annual Meeting Symposium, Feb. 20, 2010
Origins: Operate on the Context, not just the Content
2004: To help guide program staff & university counsels in interpreting the Grutter and Gratz Supreme Court rulings . . .
2008: Sloan- and NSF-funded project (AAAS-AAU) to identify effective STEM programs & practices for students & faculty that are also legally sustainable
See http://www.aaas.org/publications/books_reports/standingourground/
AAAS Annual Meeting Symposium, Feb. 20, 2010
Problem Thread
• Who participates in STEM education & the workforce—who does not and why?
• How can institutions of higher education improve academic success, career advancement, and utilization of talent—students to faculty and other professionals?
• How does Federal policy help/hinder?
AAAS Annual Meeting Symposium, Feb. 20, 2010
The Context Has Changed
• Fragile Global & Domestic Economy
• New President & Administration
• Heightened: Consciousness about demographics & access of college-
age population
Sensitivity about importance of higher education & career opportunity
Accountability for all sources of funding
Legal opposition to programs that are seen to favor any one group
AAAS Annual Meeting Symposium, Feb. 20, 2010
Our Demographic Future: The proportion of Hispanics and Asian/Pacific Islanders is increasing. Currently, one in three 18-24 year olds is African American, Hispanic or American Indian/Alaska Native and 4% are Asian/Pacific Islander.
Percent U.S. Population by Race and Hispanic Origin, 2000 with Projections to 2050
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
2000 2010 2020 2030 2040 2050
Perc
en
t
White, non-Hispanic
Hispanic (of any race)
Black
Asian
Source: Commission on Professionals in Science and Technology, data derived from U.S. Census Bureau.
AAAS Annual Meeting Symposium, Feb. 20, 2010
Under-represented minorities (URMs) and non-URMs as a percent of . . .
17.3%
16.7%
25.7%
35.5%
49.9%
70.8%
73.9%
72.2%
63.2%
44.5%
12.0%
5.6%
2.1%
1.3%
9.5%
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
STEM PhD Recipients (2005)
All Graduate Students (Fall2005)
STEM Bachelor's DegreeRecipients (2005)
All Undergraduate Students(Fall 2005)
The K-12 School-AgePopulation (2005) *
URMs Non-URMs Non-U.S. Citizens & Other/Unknown Race/Ethnicity
Note: Data for the K-12 population were not available by citizenship, so non-U.S. citizens are included in all percentages. Source: CPST, data derived from National Science Foundation, WebCASPAR Database, National Center for Education Statisics, Digest of Education Statistics, 2006, and U.S. Census Bureau, Population Division
AAAS Annual Meeting Symposium, Feb. 20, 2010
The Educational Pathway for Women in Engineering
Engineering-Ready H.S. Seniors
Freshman Engineering Students
Engineering Baccalaureates
Engineering PhDs
52% of Males (about 890,000)
48% of Females (about 820,000)
84% Male (86,465)
16% Female (16,896)
80% Male (60,721)
20% Female (15,282)
83% Male
(5,368)
17% Female (1,136)
© 2006 WEPAN, www.wepan.org, prepared by CPST, www.cpst.orgDeveloped by WEPAN for member use only.
AAAS Annual Meeting Symposium, Feb. 20, 2010
PhDs Earned by Women: Parity in the biological sciences by 2006, but lags (despite within-field gains) in all other natural sciences since 1977.
Percent Women Amongst Doctoral Degree Recipients in Natural Sciences and Engineering, Selected Years, 1977-2006
8.8%
2.8%
29.0% 29.6%
21.3%
49.2%
20.2%
13.1%
19.4%22.6%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
Physical sciences Mathematics Computer science Biological sciences Engineering
1977 1987 1996 2006
Source: Commission on Professionals in Science and Technology, analysis of data from NSF's WebCASPAR database system.
AAAS Annual Meeting Symposium, Feb. 20, 2010
PhDs Earned by URMs: Little gain between 1977 and 2006, except in the biological sciences (with actual decline in computer science).
Percent URMs Amongst Doctoral Degree Recipients in Natural Sciences and Engineering, Selected Years, 1977-2006
2.5%1.5%
2.9% 2.9%1.5%
6.7%
2.7%2.3%
6.5%
2.6%
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
Physical sciences Mathematics Computer science Biological sciences Engineering
1977 1987 1996 2006
Source: Commission on Professionals in Science and Technology, analysis of data from NSF's WebCASPAR database system.
AAAS Annual Meeting Symposium, Feb. 20, 2010
Source: Nelson, 2007
AAAS Annual Meeting Symposium, Feb. 20, 2010
An Empirical Basis for Optimism
“One of the most important findings from our research is that success in faculty diversity is no mere historical accident. A significant amount of the variation in faculty diversity reflects individual university effort and practice—strategies that can be replicated at other institutions.”
source: University Leadership Council, Breakthrough Advances in Faculty Diversity, 2008, p. 14