Quality Education for Minorities

Home : M S E MSE NETWORK 2006 ANNUAL MSE CONFERENCE HIGHLIGHTS
.................................................. 2007 NASA/NSF JOINT CONFERENCE

Mathematics, Science, and Engineering

Increasing the number of minority scientists and engineers requires expanding opportunities in mathematics, science, and engineering (MSE) fields for minority students, and improving mathematics and science education for minorities at all levels. In April 1991, QEM established the MSE Network, a coalition of minority and non-minority educational institutions, school districts, and national mathematics, science, and education organizations. Members are collaborating to achieve the numerical goals in mathematics, science, and engineering contained in QEM's 1990 report, Education That Works: An Action Plan for the Education of Minorities, and its April 1992 report, Together We Can Make It Work: A National Agenda to Provide Quality Education for Minorities in Mathematics, Science, and Engineering.

Numerical Goals

Quadruple the number of minority students receiving MSE baccalaureate degrees annually to 68,000 by the year 2000;
Triple the number of minorities receiving MSE doctorates annually to 1,200 by the year 2000; and
Quintuple the number of minority college students newly qualified to teach who enter teaching each year to 30,000 by the year 2000, with at least 30% of this group being mathematics and science pre-college teachers.

Through national and state-wide MSE conferences, proposal development and evaluation workshops, and a variety of initiatives, the QEM Network seeks to develop and promote student and faculty development, institutional action plans, programs, and projects at the national, state, and local levels that serve to increase minority participation in MSE fields. Activities include a doctoral internship program at NSF-supported Science and Technology Centers, the NSF/HBCU-Undergraduate Program Technical Assistance Project for institutions, the NSF/Tribal Colleges and Universities Program (TCUP) STEM Leadership Development Project, the NSF/Faculty Early Career Technical Assistance Project for junior faculty, and the Scholarly Technical Assistance Project for faculty who are principal investigators of NASA’s Faculty Awards for Research.