Proceedings of Three Town Halls
NATIONAL ACADEMIES PRESS 500 Fifth Street, NW Washington, DC 20001
This activity was supported by contracts between the National Academy of Sciences and the Department of Defense (W911NF-18-D-0002/W911NF-20-F-0016). Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect the views of any organization or agency that provided support for the project.
International Standard Book Number-13: 978-0-309-71609-3
International Standard Book Number-10: 0-309-71609-8
Digital Object Identifier: https://doi.org/10.17226/27511
This publication is available from the National Academies Press, 500 Fifth Street, NW, Keck 360, Washington, DC 20001; (800) 624-6242 or (202) 334-3313; http://www.nap.edu.
Copyright 2024 by the National Academy of Sciences. National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine and National Academies Press and the graphical logos for each are all trademarks of the National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.
Printed in the United States of America.
Suggested citation: National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2024. Building Defense Research Capacity at Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Tribal Colleges and Universities, and Minority-Serving Institutions: Proceedings of Three Town Halls. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. https://doi.org/10.17226/27511.
The National Academy of Sciences was established in 1863 by an Act of Congress, signed by President Lincoln, as a private, nongovernmental institution to advise the nation on issues related to science and technology. Members are elected by their peers for outstanding contributions to research. Dr. Marcia McNutt is president.
The National Academy of Engineering was established in 1964 under the charter of the National Academy of Sciences to bring the practices of engineering to advising the nation. Members are elected by their peers for extraordinary contributions to engineering. Dr. John L. Anderson is president.
The National Academy of Medicine (formerly the Institute of Medicine) was established in 1970 under the charter of the National Academy of Sciences to advise the nation on medical and health issues. Members are elected by their peers for distinguished contributions to medicine and health. Dr. Victor J. Dzau is president.
The three Academies work together as the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine to provide independent, objective analysis and advice to the nation and conduct other activities to solve complex problems and inform public policy decisions. The National Academies also encourage education and research, recognize outstanding contributions to knowledge, and increase public understanding in matters of science, engineering, and medicine.
Learn more about the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine at www.nationalacademies.org.
Consensus Study Reports published by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine document the evidence-based consensus on the study’s statement of task by an authoring committee of experts. Reports typically include findings, conclusions, and recommendations based on information gathered by the committee and the committee’s deliberations. Each report has been subjected to a rigorous and independent peer-review process and it represents the position of the National Academies on the statement of task.
Proceedings published by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine chronicle the presentations and discussions at a workshop, symposium, or other event convened by the National Academies. The statements and opinions contained in proceedings are those of the participants and are not endorsed by other participants, the planning committee, or the National Academies.
Rapid Expert Consultations published by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine are authored by subject-matter experts on narrowly focused topics that can be supported by a body of evidence. The discussions contained in rapid expert consultations are considered those of the authors and do not contain policy recommendations. Rapid expert consultations are reviewed by the institution before release.
For information about other products and activities of the National Academies, please visit www.nationalacademies.org/about/whatwedo.
BUILDING DEFENSE RESEARCH CAPACITY AT HISTORICALLY BLACK COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES AND OTHER MINORITY INSTITUTIONS WORKSHOP PLANNING COMMITTEE
OSCAR BARTON, JR., Ph.D., P.E. (Chair), Dean, Clarence M. Mitchell, Jr., School of Engineering, Morgan State University
BRYN ADAMS, Ph.D., Branch Chief, U.S. Army DEVCOM Army Research Laboratory
MELVIN GREER, Ph.D., Intel Fellow and Chief Data Scientist, Americas, Intel Corporation
KEITH A. MCGEE, Ph.D., Associate Provost for Research, Innovation, and Graduate Education, Alcorn State University
ABIGAIL S. NEWSOME, Ph.D., Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs, Mississippi Valley State University
SHAWNÉ RAIFORD, M.B.A., Space Workforce 2030 Program Manager, DEI, The Aerospace Corporation
THOMAS C. TUBON, Ph.D., Chief Workforce Development Officer, BioMADE
ABRAHAM WOLCOTT, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Chemistry, San José State University
CHAD WOMACK, Ph.D., Senior Director of National STEM Programs and Initiatives, United Negro College Fund
Staff
ANDRÉ N. PORTER, M.S., Senior Program Officer, Board on Higher Education and Workforce
JOHN N. VERAS, Associate Program Officer, Board on Higher Education and Workforce
KARLA RILEY, Senior Program Assistant, Board on Higher Education and Workforce
MARIA LUND DAHLBERG, M.S., Director, Board on Higher Education and Workforce
Consultants
PAULA WHITACRE, Consultant Writer
This page intentionally left blank.
Reviewers
This Proceedings of a Three Town Halls was reviewed in draft form by individuals chosen for their diverse perspectives and technical expertise. The purpose of this independent review is to provide candid and critical comments that will assist the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine in making each published proceedings as sound as possible and to ensure that it meets the institutional standards for quality, objectivity, evidence, and responsiveness to the charge. The review comments and draft manuscript remain confidential to protect the integrity of the process.
We thank the following individuals for their review of this proceedings:
Although the reviewers listed above provided many constructive comments and suggestions, they were not asked to endorse the content of the proceedings nor did they see the final draft before its release. The review of this proceedings was overseen by MARILYN BAKER, National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. She was responsible for making certain that an independent examination of this proceedings was carried out in accordance with standards of the National Academies and that all review comments were carefully considered. Responsibility for the final content rests entirely with the rapporteurs and the National Academies.
This page intentionally left blank.
Preface
Minority institutions with programs that develop and supply talent for the science, technology engineering and mathematics (STEM) workforce pipeline have a major impact on its readiness across all industry sectors: public and private, for-profit and not-for-profit, and military and government. Minority institutions, too, have been engines of innovation contributing to each industrial revolution with purpose and conviction. While these institutions have mostly capitalized on government, private, and philanthropic resources to build their research enterprises, increasing participation in Department of Defense research offers tremendous promise to expand capacity but also meet the challenges of the 21st century war fighter. The outcome of this work is intended to reveal strategies to do so.
Through a series of town halls, offered at locations nationwide, the planning committee brought together academics, subject matter experts, administrators, and industry leaders for open, actionable conversations on two themes: building true partnerships and identifying barriers to establishing and/or enhancing research capacity at minority institutions. Held in Washington, DC, the first town hall included highlights of the defense research and development environment, shared strategies for articulating the value proposition for partnership development, outlined defense industry criteria for developing partnerships with academic institutions, and surveyed historic and current models for the development of synergistic partnerships. The second town hall was held in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and looked intra-institutionally to address barriers. Topics included
understanding the impact of the faculty workload policy and infrastructure investments on research productivity. In addition, the participants discussed barriers that hampered capacity-building activities and shared strategies for developing diverse research portfolios. The final town hall examined approaches to elevate an institution’s research activity, offered targeted strategies to recruit for research-centered faculty, and identified supportive administrative structures to enhance productivity. The town hall was held in Chicago, Illinois.
Moderated panel sessions with invited stakeholders and constituents representative from government, private sector, academia, and community organization was the structured approach adopted to collect inputs. Participants were given an opportunity to provide opening remarks or give short presentations prior to engaging in a question-and-answer period. This effort would not have been possible without the selfless participation of the organizing committee to include Dr. Abraham Wilcott, San Jose State University; Dr. Melvin Greer, Intel Corporation; Dr. Thomas Tubon, BioMADE; Dr. Abigail Newsome, Mississippi Valley State University; Dr. Chad Womack, United Negro College Fund; and Dr. Keith McGee. I thank each of you for sharing passion while working on this project.
It goes without saying, but I must, that the work would not have reached completion without the dedication and experience of the National Academies staff. André Porter, who provided guidance and support to the committee, was invaluable. John Veras coordinated each session to ensure each was successfully executed, and Ms. Karla Riley provided timely administrative support. Thank you all.
Oscar Barton, Jr., Ph.D., P.E.
Dean, Clarence M. Mitchell, Jr., School of Engineering Morgan State University
Contents
Origins of the Town Hall Series
Organization of This Proceedings
Building Defense-Related Research Capacity at Minority Institutions
Reimagining Faculty Workload Policies
Cultural and Leadership Models to Facilitate Research Capacity Building
Developing a Diverse Funding Portfolio
Addressing the Critical Threshold for Infrastructure Investments
Federal Capacity-Building Programs
Igniting the Defense Research Ecosystem
Articulating the Value Proposition for Equitable Partnerships
Models for Synergistic Partnerships
Institutional Challenges to Developing Partnerships
Applied Research Institute for Mathematics and Computational Sciences
6 TOWN HALL III, DAY 1: RESEARCH ACTIVITY, RECRUITMENT, AND ADMINISTRATIVE BANDWIDTH
Transitioning from Low to High Research Activity
Recruiting Research-Centered Faculty at Non-R1 Institutions
Adapting Administrative Bandwidth for Increased Research Activity
Barriers to Expanding the Defense Research Workforce Pipeline
Challenges and Opportunities for Researchers and Personnel Engaging in Federally Funded Research
Box, Figures, and Table
BOX
FIGURES
2-1 DOD–tribal priority linkages
3-1 NSF proposal and award rates, 2011–2021
4-1 Industry-University Cooperative Research Centers model
5-1 ARI Research Triad, with AI as an example
6-1 Building on Inclusive Excellence criteria
7-1 Developing agile workforce at the interface of synthetic biology and soldier materials
TABLE
This page intentionally left blank.
