NACME Announces Research on Underrepresented Minorities in STEM

New Data Point to Gaps, Opportunities for Improvement

Washington, May 1 /PRNewswire/ -- The National Action Council for Minorities in Engineering (NACME) today released new research, made possible by Motorola Foundation, that quantifies a growing "opportunity gap" in the number of minority students pursuing degrees and careers in science and technology. In what NACME characterizes as "the 'New' American Dilemma," the report shows that rates of participation by African Americans, American Indians, and Latinos in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields have flatlined, and in some cases have actually declined.

At a time when the pursuit of careers in science and technology is a major indicator of the nation's ability to be competitive and economically strong, NACME's report highlights another reason that the United States is falling behind in the global economy.

The report finds a vast pool of minority students who aren't prepared for STEM fields and who thus can't contribute to the solution. The report, "Confronting the 'New' American Dilemma, Underrepresented Minorities in Engineering: A Data-Based Look at Diversity," shows that progress on this issue has been marginal, neither steady nor substantial enough for representation of minorities in STEM to reflect their overall proportion of the U.S. population. Among other statistics, the report reveals:

  -- The proportion of bachelor's degrees in engineering awarded to African
     Americans between 1995 and 2005 has declined. In 1995, engineering
     degrees accounted for 3.3% of bachelor's degrees awarded to African
     Americans, versus 2.5% of these degrees in 2005.

  -- Though Latinos are expected to account for 25% of the U.S. population
     by the mid-21st century, the gap in educational attainment for Latinos
     relative to non-Hispanic whites has widened. In addition, evidence
     suggests that Latinos are losing interest in engineering and are opting
     to pursue other fields of study in college.

  -- American Indians comprise only 0.4% of engineering faculty. Lack of
     diversity among college and university faculties has the potential to
     rob minority and female students of the role models and mentors needed
     to improve students' motivation to continue college.

Released at a Capitol Hill briefing today, the report also articulates a set of calls to action directed at K-12 and higher education, government, and business.

The calls to action include having genuinely high expectations for our young students of color, removing systemic barriers to underrepresented minorities' participation in college, developing a national STEM workforce development policy, and forming business partnerships that promote untapped populations.

The NACME report was authored by the Commission on Professionals in Science and Technology (CPST) and was supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF). The findings have caught the attention of members of Congress, including Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson, who spoke at today's event.

"We must look out for America's strength in the global economy, and to do that, we must encourage untapped resources into the STEM pipeline," said Congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-Texas). "So many of our minority youth are not prepared to take on jobs in critical science and engineering fields, and this is a problem Congress can -- and must-address.

"I commend NACME for working toward a more diverse and competitive engineering workforce, and I support them in their efforts," said Congresswoman Johnson.

According to the report, African Americans, American Indians, and Latinos constitute 30% of the nation's undergraduate students, a proportion that is expected to grow to 32% in 2010 and to 38% by 2025. Yet today, fewer than 12% of baccalaureate engineering graduates in this country are underrepresented minorities.

"America is open to embracing the ideas and perspectives of people from all walks of life," said Eileen Sweeney, director of Motorola Foundation. "Motorola invests in this strength and diversity of ideas with its support for educational programs that spur children's interest in math and science -- and for research like the NACME study that helps elevate the public discourse about underrepresented minorities in engineering."

More than six decades after Gunnar Myrdal wrote An American Dilemma, NACME's research reveals where the United States still struggles with a dilemma of race and opportunity. NACME's "'New' American Dilemma" report proposes a series of responses that include creating support groups to retain underrepresented minorities once they enter college and encouraging businesses to include recruitment of minorities in their workforce development strategies.

"There is a solution to America's endangered competitiveness, and NACME is ready to work with government, education, business, and individuals of goodwill to achieve it," said Irving Pressley McPhail, Ed.D., NACME executive vice president and chief operating officer. "We must prepare and empower America's hidden workforce of young men and women who have traditionally been underrepresented in STEM careers."