Call to Action: Data, Diversity, and STEM Education

To meet projected labor demands in science and engineering, the workforce of the future must be educated today in increasing numbers. Indeed, science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) underpin the government's ability to defend the nation and to assure the vitality of the economy. STEM jobs are the fastest growing occupational category and, by 2020, 65% of all jobs in the U.S. will require a post-secondary degree with STEM literacy skills (Carnevale, Smith, & Strohl, 2013). However, according to the U.S. Department of Education, less than 25 percent of college students pursuing bachelor's degrees will be specializing in STEM fields (National Center for Education Statistics, 2012). In addition, the current STEM workforce is predominantly male and White or Asian, even as women and racial and ethnic minority groups are projected to comprise greater percentages of the U.S. population in the coming decades. To meet the growing global demand for a STEM workforce, every segment of the U.S. population will need to be engaged in a successful STEM education. A first critical step will be for academia, government, and nongovernmental agencies to understand the challenges diverse students face in their quest to join the STEM workforce. The goal of the project described in this article is to close the achievement gap of underrepresented minority and underserved students (URMS) and to contribute to addressing the STEM crisis facing the nation. In addition to the longitudinal, five phase research project outlined in this article, UVA Engineering's Office of Diversity and Education (ODE) will work to assemble a comprehensive clearinghouse of survey and records data on factors related to STEM education from sources such as admissions, student affairs, student health, academic records and campus-wide surveys in institutional research offices, and UVA's own research and work.