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Suggested Citation:"4 DAY 2 PLENARY." National Academy of Engineering. 2012. Colloquy on Minority Males in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13502.
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4

DAY 2 PLENARY

The Colloquy began the second full day with a talk by James Stith, former Vice President of the American Institute of Physics. Stith reflected on his career as a Black physicist who began as the child of a single mother with a third-grade education who was told that he would “never amount to anything.” He has taught physics at West Point and at the Ohio State University, and said that for his entire career he has been working on replacing himself. He believes that minority groups should be represented in the STEM professions proportional to their representation in the general population.

Stith explained that, since physics is usually the last science course students take in high school, he uses it as a bellwether for college readiness to enter STEM. In 1948 just over 25 percent of all US high school students had taken a physics course, in 2009 it was 36 percent (Figure 2).

image

FIGURE 2. Physics enrollment in US high schools, 1948-2009. Data show percent of seniors who have taken at least one physics course prior to graduation.
SOURCE: 1987-current data were retrieved from American Institute of Physics (www.aip.org/statistics); data prior to 1987 were retrieved from National Center for Education Statistics (NCES; http://nces.ed.gov/).

Suggested Citation:"4 DAY 2 PLENARY." National Academy of Engineering. 2012. Colloquy on Minority Males in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13502.
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However, he noted that, although the percentage and numbers of students who have taken a high school physics course have increased across all ethnicities and races over the past 25 years, there has not been similar growth for minorities who pursue physics at the undergraduate level: in 1996, roughly 6 percent (166 majors/year) of all physics baccalaureate recipients were African American; in 2007, it was less than 3 percent (144 majors/year) (Figure 3). The drop in percentage is due to both an increase in the total number of undergraduate physics degrees obtained by students of any race or ethnicity and a real decrease in the number of African American males attaining these degrees.

image

FIGURE 3. Percent of physics bachelor’s (US citizens only) who were African American, classes 1996 through 2007.
SOURCE: American Institute of Physics (www.aip.org/statistics).

According to Stith, most African American physics PhD recipients used to receive their doctoral degrees from one of 34 historically black colleges or universities (HBCUs), which graduated roughly 60% of the African American baccalaureates in physics (Box 1). But because of program closures, only four HBCUs—Howard University, Hampton, Florida A&M, and Alabama A&M—now produce the majority of African American physics PhDs from all institutions. Stith found this change particularly troubling because only about 13% of African Americans currently attend any of the 110 HBCUs for their undergraduate education.

In conclusion, Stith stated that the continuous encouragement of minority students and their access to high-caliber teachers and faculty are two crucial factors needed for minority males to be successful in STEM studies and careers.

Suggested Citation:"4 DAY 2 PLENARY." National Academy of Engineering. 2012. Colloquy on Minority Males in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13502.
×

Box 1: Universities That Awarded the Most Physics PhDs to African Americans since 1998

Physics departments in these twelve universities awarded more than 65 percent of all physics PhDs degrees earned by African Americans since 1998.

  • Alabama A&M University
  • Cornell University*
  • Florida A&M University
  • Georgia Institute of Technology
  • Hampton University
  • Howard University
  • Massachusetts Institute of Technology
  • North Carolina State University
  • Stanford University*
  • University of Alabama at Birmingham
  • University of California at San Diego
  • University of Michigan*

 * Denotes universities that have two departments that award physics PhDs. The universities on this list reported conferring three or more physics PhDs to African Americans between 1998 and 2007.

Source: American Institute of Physics Statistical Research Center, Enrollment & Degree.

Suggested Citation:"4 DAY 2 PLENARY." National Academy of Engineering. 2012. Colloquy on Minority Males in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13502.
×
Page 12
Suggested Citation:"4 DAY 2 PLENARY." National Academy of Engineering. 2012. Colloquy on Minority Males in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13502.
×
Page 13
Suggested Citation:"4 DAY 2 PLENARY." National Academy of Engineering. 2012. Colloquy on Minority Males in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13502.
×
Page 14
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On August 8-12, 2010 the National Academy of Engineering (NAE), with funding from the National Science Foundation (NSF), convened the Colloquy on Minority Males in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM), following the release of several reports highlighting the educational challenges facing minority males. The NSF recognized the need to gather input from research communities that focus on minority males about how to frame investigations of gender-based factors that impact learning and choice in STEM education (both at the precollege and higher education levels) and the workforce for minority males. There was particular interest in framing a research agenda to study how interactions between minority males and societal and educational systems (both formal and informal) encourage or discourage the young men's interest and persistence in STEM. In addition, NSF hoped to gain community input to inform the parameters of a future NSF research program that could effectively address minority male participation in STEM. The Colloquy was held at the Mt. Washington Conference Center in Baltimore, Maryland, with approximately 40 participants, most of them researchers in education, psychology, sociology, mathematics, and physics.

Colloquy on Minority Males in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics presents a summary of the Colloquy's breakout and plenary discussions, which addressed (a) research questions articulated in the breakout groups together with theories and methodologies to begin to address these questions; and (b) considerations for a potential research solicitation for the NSF, with major areas of inquiry concerning access, participation, and success for minority males in STEM.

This report reflects the views of the individuals who participated in the plenary and breakout groups. It has been reviewed in draft form by persons chosen for their diverse perspectives and expertise in accordance with procedures approved by the National Academies' Report Review Committee. The purpose of this independent review is to provide candid and critical comments that will assist the institution in making its published report as sound as possible and to ensure that the report meets institutional standards for quality and objectivity.

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