Remarks to Commission on the Advancement of Women and Minorities in Science, Engineering, and Technology (CAWMSET) October 6, 1999 Seattle, Washington Dr. Diana S. Natalicio and Dr. Eve L. Menger National Science Board On behalf of the National Science Board, we are pleased to testify to the Commission on the Advancement of Women and Minorities in Science, Engineering, and Technology Development. As members of the Board, we are proud of its commitment to enhance the participation of citizens in the U.S. science and technology workforce. The NSB is itself a diverse body of 24 presidential appointees. More than a third of the members are women, another third are ethnic minorities, and one member is visually impaired. We speak as well from complementary perspectives. One of us is president of the University of Texas at El Paso, with a faculty 28 percent minority and an undergraduate population that is three-quarters Hispanic. The other has now retired from Corning Inc. after a career in both academic and industrial research. Through our professional experiences, we know the value of diversity for higher education and for our Nation. Role of the NSB The National Science Foundation Act of 1950, which created the National Science Foundation (NSF), makes the Board responsible for establishing the policies of the Foundation. The Act also directs the Board to advise the President and Congress, ". . . regarding policy matters related to science and engineering and education in science and engineering . . ." Forty-nine years later, the Board's awareness about the need to expand the pool of talent seeking preparation for careers in science and engineering fields is acute, and its impatience with the pace of progress very real. NSF programs have been a beacon of opportunity for groups underrepresented and underserved in science and technology (S&T). From pre-Kindergarten through secondary teaching and learning of mathematics and science, to supplying the links to baccalaureate and graduate education and into the high-tech workforce, NSF offers programmatic support. NSF's commitment to participation in S&T is unflagging. It has to be. On the threshold of the 21st century, we face this contradiction in our merit-based society: country of origin, gender, and skin color are not supposed to matter - but they still do. And the advantages that accrue to some mean, in the eyes of many, that disadvantages must accrue to others. That zero-sum mentality is dangerous, misleading, and represents both bad thinking and bad policy. As a Nation, we are only as strong as our weakest link. The challenge is to devise strategies for cultivating the talent pool. That is what this Commission must identify, promote, and ensure. NSB Action on Human Resources In November 1998, the Board issued a strategic plan that outlines its focus for the near term. Prominent among them is "Educating the National Workforce." Emerging from the Board's consideration of this issue, and human resource development more generally, are the following: * Local communities must decide what is best for their children and schools, but there is a national interest in improving student achievement and in determining what every student in a grade should know and be able to do in math and science. * Engaging all students in math and science inquiry develops not only skills and knowledge, but also a foundation for future thinking in the workplace, home, and community; and * Formal education must be seen as a seamless system, K-16 and beyond. A sense of shared responsibility for preparing, nurturing, and mentoring students and teachers must be forged. The challenge is rewarding those individual and institutional efforts that serve a broader conception of teaching and learning. The segments of the formal educational process - elementary, middle, and high school, undergraduate and graduate study - reinforce a specialization in objectives (in, e.g., curriculum, materials, certification, and testing) that pose barriers to learning. The Board has resolved to encourage - through policy guidance, partnerships, and outreach - the involvement of scientists and engineers in the improvement of K-12 education, both individually and through their employing institutions and professional associations. This resolution supports two national needs - the assurance of a skilled, highly educated, and diverse workforce, and a public that is not just well disposed toward science but one that is able as well to use its knowledge of science and mathematics. The Board's concerns encompass the full range of these needs. The NSB has already considered the disturbing implications of the Third International Mathematics and Science Study. A Board report, issued in March 1999, titled Failing Our Children: Math and Science Education in the National Interest (NSB 99-31, available at www.nsf.gov/nsb/documents/), presents recommendations for improving teaching and learning to parents, local communities, and particularly scientists and engineers in institutions of higher education. The Board has also examined (February 1998) issues of higher education - especially graduate and postdoctoral training - in science and engineering. It recommended: * the appropriate breadth and focus in education and training responsive to the growing diversity of career and employment opportunities; * the development of reward systems that support mentoring and outreach; * the enhancement of collaboration among disciplines as well as research and non-research institutions; and * improved data to identify current and emerging national needs for the science and engineering workforce. The 1980 congressional reauthorization of NSF charges the agency with the responsibility to increase participation of groups historically underrepresented in science and engineering. That authority stands, though the Adarand decision inhibits certain strategies - programs targeted to specific groups. We know from countless studies that a gap in opportunity precedes the gap in performance observed between majority and minority students. The gap also arouses concerns about the criteria affecting the transitions from recruitment-admissions-and-retention-to-degree-taking. How does dependence on the SAT/ACT, GRE, and other standardized tests filter students inappropriately and/or unfairly? Are we using the wrong "gates" for gatekeeping entry to the science and engineering workforce? Data on college enrollment and retention (from sources such as NSF, NCES, ETS, and NACME) are now routinely accompanied by stories in the mass media and higher education press about lawsuits that impinge on institutions, their admissions criteria, and selection processes - and not just in Texas, California, Michigan, or Washington State. The lack of diversity among S&T professionals across sectors and in the leadership of SMET disciplines is exacerbated by the current legal climate. Federal support targeted to certain groups has evolved into strategies aimed at institutions that serve large numbers of minority students (such as NSF's Alliances for Minority Participation), featuring partnerships with research universities willing to share faculty, facilities, and equipment. Lessons from NSB Hearings Throughout last year, the Board, through its Committee on Education and Human Resources, undertook a series of field hearings on topics sampled from NSF's Education and Training portfolio. The hearings enabled the Board to hear first-hand from NSF's constituents in the science, engineering, and education communities around the U.S. The NSB Field Hearing hosted by the Chicago Public Schools (July 1998) illustrated the painstaking process of reform of urban schools. Educating diverse populations with language, poverty, and deficits in academic preparation challenge teachers, schools, and political leaders is more the norm than the exception. It is imperative, therefore, to evaluate the changes implemented under NSF's Urban Systemic Program. Perhaps the clearest statement of the link between school and work that the Board heard to date was at its hearing a year ago in Puerto Rico. Higher education, focused at the U. of Puerto Rico campuses, is strongly engaged in K-12 education reform. Math and science are seen as preparation for higher education, entry to the high-tech workforce, and the economic development of the island. All students are viewed as future human capital - some will pursue careers in S&T, most will join a science-literate workforce as citizens, and a few will become societal leaders. Both in Puerto Rico and Chicago, there was explicit recognition that for those who otherwise would be consigned to a bleak future, academic achievement is a way out and up in society. The hearings focused on preparation, the transition to next stages of the "talent pool," and the role of two- and four-year colleges in nurturing workplace skills. Mentorship emerged as a critical ingredient in academic planning and success. (But as we all know, it is easy to advocate mentorship, but hard to do - and harder yet to reward). Concluding Thoughts It remains to be seen how NSF awards can increase student access to science-based careers while not targeting certain groups. How to cultivate an increasingly diverse student body to renew the workforce of a global economy demands quality science education at the K-12 level. Ours could be far better, especially for urban and rural students born into disadvantaged circumstances, and for schools lacking the resources that support the learning of 21st century math and science from well-trained, -equipped, and -rewarded teachers. Only concerted action will achieve greater participation by those who have not traditionally identified mathematics and science education with their future careers and citizenship. Making the possibility of a science-informed future a reality for all students is our collective responsibility. We must act in our national self-interest to expand the capabilities of the next generation. Students at all levels must reflect the diversity that is America. Whether we draw on the full potential of our human resources is entirely up to us. Finally, we applaud the Commission for undertaking this formidable task. You are critical for making an important contribution to national awareness and public policy. We also believe the recommendations developed in recent NSB reports are critical for restating the ethic of participation - and translating expectation into action. Therefore, we urge the Commission to endorse and adopt the National Science Board's recommendations as part of its own. *** DIANA S. NATALICIO is President of the University of Texas at El Paso, a position she has held since 1988. She also serves as Vice Chairman of the National Science Board, and among others, on boards and advisory councils for NASA, NIH, the U.S. Department of Education, NACME, and the American Association for Higher Education. Her Ph.D. is in linguistics from the University of Texas at Austin. EVE L. MENGER is the former Director of Characterization Science & Services, Corning Inc., and a member of the National Science Board. Among her previous positions were Vice-Provost for University-Industry Relations and Professor of Chemistry at the University of Virginia, and Senior Technical Officer for AlliedSignal Inc. She serves on several university and nonprofit advisory boards and committees. Her Ph.D. is in chemistry from Harvard University. 1