U.S. Under Secretary of Education Ted Mitchell will deliver remarks and facilitate a roundtable discussion titled, “Solutions for STEM Diversity: Lessons from HBCUs and other Leaders in Diversifying the Pipeline,” Monday at a conference hosted by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine in Washington, D.C.
Mitchell will join other leaders to discuss the importance of Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) in meeting the projected workforce need of one million additional science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) graduates by 2022, and to realize the vision of a highly diverse, creative, and sufficient STEM workforce.
During the session, university officials, non-profit organizations and employers will discuss their efforts in graduating more STEM professionals of color.
HBCUs have played a key role in attracting and graduating African-American STEM professionals. Even though America’s 105 HBCUs comprise just 3 percent of colleges and universities, they produce 27 percent of African Americans with bachelors' degrees in STEM fields. In 2011, HBCUs conferred one-fourth of the bachelor degrees in education awarded to African-Americans. President Obama has made improving STEM education a priority, and over the past seven years, the Administration’s efforts have resulted in unprecedented levels of public-private collaboration in STEM education.