Review of Army Research Laboratory Programs for Historically Black Colleges and Universities and Minority Institutions examines the ways in which historically black colleges and universities and minority institutions have used the Army Research Laboratory (ARL) funds to enhance the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) programs at their institutions over the past decade. This report also considers which program elements reflect practices that are effective for assisting these institutions in enhancing the STEM programs and could be considered by other Department of Defense agencies for application to their programs. The Army Research Laboratory has contributed to building up the human and infrastructural capacities in the past, and this report looks for ways to enhance ARL program impact on institution-building in the future, confident that more capable black and minority-serving institutions will, in turn, help America as a whole develop a more diverse and intellectually capable STEM workforce.

"Review of Army Research Laboratory Programs for Historically Black Colleges and Universities and Minority Institutions" examines the ways in which historically black colleges and universities and minority institutions have used the Army Research Laboratory (ARL) funds to enhance the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) programs at their institutions over the past decade. This report also considers which program elements reflect practices that are effective for assisting these institutions in enhancing the STEM programs and could be considered by other Department of Defense agencies for application to their programs. The Army Research Laboratory has contributed to building up the human and infrastructural capacities in the past, and this report looks for ways to enhance ARL program impact on institution-building in the future, confident that more capable black and minority-serving institutions will, in turn, help America as a whole develop a more diverse and intellectually capable STEM workforce.

This text examines in detail the issue of the underrepresentation of women, African Americans, American Indians, and Hispanics in the computing disciplines in the U.S. The work reviews the underlying causes, as well as the efforts of various nonprofit organizations to correct the situation, in order to both improve social equity and address the shortage of skilled workers in this area. Topics and features: presents a digest and historical overview of the relevant literature from a range of disciplines, including leading historical and social science sources; discusses the social and political factors that have affected the demographics of the workforce from the end of WWII to the present day; provides historical case studies on organizations that have sought to broaden participation in computing and the STEM disciplines; reviews the different approaches that have been applied to address underrepresentation, at the individual, system-wide, and pathway-focused level; profiles the colleges and universities that have been successful in opening up computer science or engineering to female students; describes the impact of individual change-agents as well as whole organizations.

There are over 20 million young people of color in the United States whose representation in STEM education pathways and in the STEM workforce is still far below their numbers in the general population. Their participation could help re-establish the United States' preeminence in STEM innovation and productivity, while also increasing the number of well-educated STEM workers. There are nearly 700 minority-serving institutions (MSIs) that provide pathways to STEM educational success and workforce readiness for millions of students of colorâ€"and do so in a mission-driven and intentional manner. They vary substantially in their origins, missions, student demographics, and levels of institutional selectivity. But in general, their service to the nation provides a gateway to higher education and the workforce, particularly for underrepresented students of color and those from low-income and first-generation to college backgrounds. The challenge for the nation is how to capitalize on the unique strengths and attributes of these institutions and to equip them with the resources, exceptional faculty talent, and vital infrastructure needed to educate and train an increasingly critical portion of current and future generations of scientists, engineers, and health professionals. Minority Serving Institutions examines the nation's MSIs and identifies promising programs and effective strategies that have the highest potential return on investment for the nation by increasing the quantity and quality MSI STEM graduates. This study also provides critical information and perspective about the importance of MSIs to other stakeholders in the nation's system of higher education and the organizations that support them.

On December 2-3, 2014, the Space Studies Board and the Board on Science Education of the National Research Council held a workshop on the NASA Science Mission Directorate (SMD) education program - "Sharing the Adventure with the Student." The workshop brought together representatives of the space science and science education communities to discuss maximizing the effectiveness of the transfer of knowledge from the scientists supported by NASA's SMD to K-12 students directly and to teachers and informal educators. The workshop focused not only on the effectiveness of recent models for transferring science content and scientific practices to students, but also served as a venue for dialogue between education specialists, education staff from NASA and other agencies, space scientists and engineers, and science content generators. Workshop participants reviewed case studies of scientists or engineers who were able to successfully translate their research results and research experiences into formal and informal student science learning. Education specialists shared how science can be translated to education materials and directly to students, and teachers shared their experiences of space science in their classrooms. Sharing the Adventure with the Student is the summary of the presentation and discussions of the workshop.

Covering everything from sports to art, religion, music, and entrepreneurship, this book documents the vast array of African American cultural expressions and discusses their impact on the culture of the United States. According to the latest census data, less than 13 percent of the U.S. population identifies as African American; African Americans are still very much a minority group. Yet African American cultural expression and strong influences from African American culture are common across mainstream American culture—in music, the arts, and entertainment; in education and religion; in sports; and in politics and business. African American Culture: An Encyclopedia of People, Traditions, and Customs covers virtually every aspect of African American cultural expression, addressing subject matter that ranges from how African culture was preserved during slavery hundreds of years ago to the richness and complexity of African American culture in the post-Obama era. The most comprehensive reference work on African American culture to date, the multivolume set covers such topics as black contributions to literature and the arts, music and entertainment, religion, and professional sports. It also provides coverage of less-commonly addressed subjects, such as African American fashion practices and beauty culture, the development of jazz music across different eras, and African American business.