April Hill
University of Richmond
HHMI: Call for Inclusion,
Persistence, and Community

“HHMI grants have enabled colleges
and universities to involve large
numbers of underrepresented minority
students in student research and other
activities... However, their impressive
potential still has not been realized as a
substantial increase in the number of
students from underrepresented groups
who go on to careers in science.”
“Expanding Underrepresented Minority
Participation: America’s Science and
Technology Talent at the Crossroads.”

Committee on Underrepresented Groups and the Expansion of
the Science and Engineering Workforce Pipeline; Committee on
Science, Engineering, and Public Policy; Policy and Global
Affairs; National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of
Engineering, and Institute of Medicine
What is the challenge?

21st century U.S. needs strong S&E
enterprise:
o Need solutions for pandemics, terrorism, natural
disasters
o Need for reliable energy and clean environment
o Need for healthier people, better medicines
o Need to develop new products to compete in
global markets
Yet, “the dominance of the U.S. in these fields has
faded as the rest of the world has invested and
grown their research and education capacities.”
Finding America’s STEM Talent:
Our sources for the future STEM workforce
are uncertain
 The demographics of our domestic
population are shifting dramatically

Finding America’s Science and
Engineering Talent
Finding America’s STEM Talent:
Our sources for the future STEM workforce
are uncertain
 The demographics of our domestic
population are shifting dramatically
 Diversity is an asset

Educational Attainment
•Since the 1970s progress in overall education
attainment has stalled in the U.S.
•Prior to 1970s underrepresented minorities were
largely and systematically excluded from many
mainstream educational opportunities.
•Thus, the period of inclusion for underrepresented
minorities (from the 1970s on), coincides with
stagnation in both public educational investment
and overall levels of educational attainment.
Needs for Educational Attainment
Attain STEM
degree?
2.7% African
Americans
3.3% Native
Americans
2.2% Hispanics
and Latinos
•U.S. ranks 20 out of 24 countries in the percentage of 24 year olds who earn
degrees in STEM disciplines.
•Goal is to increase the overall percentage from 6% to 10% (this benchmark is
achieved by several countries).
•To achieve this goal for underrepresented minorities we need to at least triple
their proportions with a degree in STEM
Underproduction of minorities at every
level of STEM
STEM Interest?
•By the late 1980s, African American and Hispanic students begin college
interested in majoring in STEM fields at rates similar to white and Asian
American students.
STEM Completion?
•Completers were better prepared for postsecondary education because a larger
proportion took a highly rigorous high school curriculum.
•Completers were more likely to have at least one parent with a bachelor’s degree
•Completers came from families with higher incomes
•Non-completers were more likely to work 15 hours or more per week
Progress in increasing participation
•However, this progress is comprised of large gains over a very small base
– minorities remain underrepresented across STEM fields and academic
levels.
Where do we start?
1.Preparation
2.Access and Motivation
3.Affordability
4.Academic and Social Support
Preparation
Preparation: Why the persistent
achievement gap?
•Family and community differences
•Poverty
•Parents with less than high school
education
•Home language other than English
•School context
•Low expectations and lack of
advanced courses
•Lack of exposure to role models
•Lack of information about career
opportunities
Access to AP
by
race/ethnicity.
U.S. public
schools 2009
Access and Motivation
Caveat 1: Underrepresented
minorities at 2-year
institutions (who comprise
more than half of all minorities
enrolled in postsecondary
institutions) have a low
propensity to major in and
complete STEM.
•26.2% of all undergraduates are
underrepresented minorities (33.2% overall pop.).
•Proportion of underrepresented minority
freshman who aspire to STEM majors has also
increased.
Caveat 2: Underrepresented
minorities who begin four-year
institutions and aspire to
STEM have a lower
completion rate.
Affordability
Possible consequences:
•Self-support and loans create a larger burden for underrepresented minorities both
during and after graduation.
•Need to rely on outside work can mean less time to study and focus on research,
lower grades, longer time-to-degree, and higher probability of attrition.
•Debt of those that attend college and graduate school can serve as a market
signal to deter other underrepresented minorities from attending, participating and
completing STEM degrees.
Academic and Social Support
“While
women are less likely to major in
STEM than men, they have similar or
higher persistence rates. By contrast,
while underrepresented minorities major in
STEM at the same rate as others, their
completion rate is lower.”
Source studies: National Center for Education Statistics and Higher
Education Research Institute
Academic and Social Support:
Sustaining Self-Efficacy
Self-Efficacy is strongly correlated with issues of
persistence and achievement
Barriers to self-efficacy:
1. Campuses that construct a social structure to “weed out” students
2. Racial stereotyping and “stereotype threat”
3. Stigma of minority programs
4. Underrepresented minorities are likely to find themselves
academically and socially isolated (this is more prevalent in STEM).
5. Students who come from economically and culturally disadvantaged
backgrounds can find themselves in situations without the same level
of information as their peers.
Academic and Social Support:
Student retention and
Institutional transformation
•Campus-wide commitment to inclusiveness is crucial: this
must happen at all levels and must be sustained.
•Deliberate self-appraisal is necessary
•Develop plans for implementing constructive change
•Ongoing evaluation to monitor effectiveness
Best Practices: Programs That
Work
•University of Maryland Baltimore Park Meyerhoff Scholar
Program
•Georgia Tech Focus
•Rice University Computational and Applied Mathematics
(CAAM)
•Leadership Alliance (Brown)
•RISE (Research Initiative for Scientific Enhancement
program) NIH
•Louis Stokes Alliances for Minority Participants (LSAMP)
•HHMI EXROP
Best Practices: Key Elements and
Transitions
Community
Colleges
K-12
Summer
research/brid
ge
Family
Universities
Summer
research/bridg
e
Introductorylevel course
work
Faculty
Learning
communities
Communitybased learning
Research
Institutions
Research and
other engagement
activities
Mentoring/t
utoring
Upper division
STEM courses
& research
Professional
development
Graduate courses
Master & Ph.D.
work
Study
groups