National AGEP Activities

Conference Addresses How to Increase Underrepresented Minorities in the Professoriate
AAAS's Education and Human Resources directorate, and the National Science Foundation's program Alliances for Graduate Education and the Professoriate (AGEP) convened a brainstorming conference in Washington, D.C., to discuss how to move more underrepresented minority graduate students into the S&T work force. Although a 2009 AAAS report shows a 34 percent increase in Ph.D.s awarded by AGEP institutions to underrepresented minorities in S&T fields from 2001 through 2008, the number of faculty members who are minorities has not increased. Participants discussed challenges and strategies for diversifying faculties as well as other parts of the S&T work force, including industrial and national labs. Read more about the program and watch a brief video presentation of the AAAS report.