CEOSE:The Committee and Its Guidance to

NSF

A Presentation to the Advisory Committee of the Biological Sciences Directorate

November 18, 2004

Dr. Margaret E. M. TolbertSenior Advisor, OIA

National Science Foundation, Room 375Arlington, Virginia

CEOSE

• The Committee on Equal Opportunities in Science and Engineering

Established in 1980 as the Committee on Equal Opportunities in Science and Technology (P.L. 96-516)

Renamed in 1985 – the Committee on Equal Opportunities in Science and Engineering (P.L. 99-159)

Current Members of CEOSE

Dr. Indira Nair, CEOSE ChairVice Provost for EducationProfessor, Engineering and Public PolicyCarnegie Mellon University Dr. Robert L. Lichter, CEOSE Vice ChairPrincipal Merrimack Consultants, LLC Dr. Ashok Agrawal, Professor & ChairEngineering and TechnologySt. Louis Community College Dr. David R. Burgess, Professor of BiologyBoston College Dr. Luis Echegoyen, Chair and ProfessorDepartment of ChemistryClemson University Dr. Wesley L. Harris, Department Head and Charles Stark Draper Professor of

Aeronautics and AstronauticsDepartment of Aeronautics & AstronauticsMassachusetts Institute of Technology

Dr. Beverly Karplus Hartline, Special Assistant to the President

Heritage University 

Dr. J. K. Haynes, David Packard Professor and DeanDivision of Science and MathematicsMorehouse College Dr. Joyce Bennett Justus, Special Assistant to the Chancellor

for Intersegmental RelationsUniversity of California at Santa Cruz Dr. Samuel L. Myers, Jr., Roy Wilkins Professor of Human

Relations and Social Justice Hubert H. Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs

University of MinnesotaUMN Twin Cities Campus Dr. Willie Pearson, Jr., Professor and Chair School of History, Technology, and Society, Georgia Institute of Technology Dr. Carol Halpert Schwartz, Professor of EconomicsNew York Institute of Technology

Dr. Telle Whitney, President and CEOAnita Borg Institute for Women and Technology Dr. Lilian Shiao-Yen Wu, Program Executive, University RelationsCorporate Technical Strategy Development IBM Corporation Ms. Sara Young, Director of American Indian Research Opportunities Montana State University

CEOSE Member(CEOSE Liaison for the November 2004 BIO AC Meeting)

Dr. Samuel L. Myers, Jr.Roy Wilkins Professor of Human Relations and Social Justice

Hubert H. Humphrey Institute of Public AffairsUniversity of Minnesota

CEOSE

• CEOSE reviews and provides advice to NSF on programs and activities within and outside NSF that promote and broaden full participation of women, minorities, and persons with disabilities currently underrepresented in scientific, engineering, professional, and technical fields.

CEOSE Mechanisms• Three Meetings Annually

– February, June, and October

• Other Activities– NSF Directorate Advisory Committees

• CEOSE Liaisons to NSF Advisory Committees (BIO, CISE, EHR, ENG, GEO, MPS, SBE, OPP, ERE, and B&O)

– External Visitors– Search Committees– Proposal Review Panels– Site Visits

• Regular meetings among NSF Director, Deputy Director, CEOSE Chair, and Vice Chair

• NSF Director/Deputy Director - Meetings with Entire CEOSE Membership

• CEOSE-Sponsored Workshops and Symposia

CEOSE Policy Accomplishment

• Criterion 2: “Broader Impacts”– Broad impact of proposals– Includes (not restricted to) how proposed project

would help increase participation of underrepresented groups in STEM.

• Important Notice 127– requires grant applicants to respond to Criterion 2

in the Project Summary as well as in the Proposal Description sections of all grant applications

– failure to do so would automatically disqualify the proposal from consideration.

CEOSE Reports

• Reports to Congress– Biennial reports

– Decennial reports

CEOSE Reports to Congress

• CEOSE Biennial Report to Congress– CEOSE Activities during the Previous

Two Years– Proposed Activities of CEOSE– Reports Submitted to Congress through

NSF Director • Reports not Changed by NSF Director

• NSF Director May Submit Comments on Report

CEOSE: The Decennial Report

• CEOSE Decennial Report to Congress (in preparation, 1993-2002)

– Summary of CEOSE findings over the previous 10 years– Description of past and present policies and activities of the

Foundation to encourage full participation of women, minorities, and persons with disabilities in science, mathematics, and engineering fields, including activities in support of minority-serving institutions

– Assessment of the trends in participation in Foundation activities, and of the success of Foundation policies and activities

– Proposals for new strategies or broadening of existing successful strategies toward facilitating the goals diversity, access, and inclusiveness

Continuing Challenges

• NSF grant-giving to Americans who are underrepresented in S&E and the role of Foundation’s merit review system in that process

• NSF support of programs and initiatives that help to increase access to education and employment opportunities for underrepresented populations

• Enhanced diversity specifically among NSF science and engineering staff

• Continued expansion of NSF outreach efforts to encourage minorities and others to pursue grant opportunities to enhance their education, research experience and career advancement in S&E.

• Better NSF monitoring of the outcome of its Criterion 2 (“broader impact”) policy, via a foundation-wide information-gathering and reporting mechanism for all reviewed proposals.

Continuing Challenges

Continuing Challenges

• Greater attention to concerns of emerging scientists with disabilities, including improved methods for data collection.

• Addressing of reviewer reluctance to report gender, race/ethnicity, and disability status.

• Increase in the diversity of NSF scientific and engineering staff.

Continuing Challenges

• NSF must continue its efforts to broaden the participation of women, underrepresented minorities, and persons with disabilities in STEM.

• The efforts outlined above must be documented and assessed regularly.