Expanding Underrepresented Minority Participation: America's Science and Technology Talent at the Crossroads

Over the last few years, the national push to have a properly trained science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) workforce has been at the forefront of the nation’s top priority list. In a recent report to the President, Engage to Excel: Producing One-Million Additional College Graduates with Degrees in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics, President Barak Obama’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (2012) offered five recommendations to address this priority. Recommendation 3 was to “launch a national experiment in postsecondary mathematics education to address the mathematics-preparation gap” (p. 27); Recommendation 4 was to “encourage partnerships among stakeholders to diversify pathways to STEM careers” (p. 30). These initiatives mirror Expanding Underrepresented Minority Participation: America's Science and Technology Talent at the Crossroads, which aimed to address the need to strengthen the U.S. STEM workforce with diversity and the inclusion of underrepresentation minorities at the forefront of its mission.