Annual report : 2005 / Burroughs Wellcome Fund.

  • Burroughs Wellcome Fund
Date:
2005
Catalogue details

Licence: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Credit: Annual report : 2005 / Burroughs Wellcome Fund. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    9/82 (page 6)
    Education in the United States currently consumes 7 percent of the U.S. gross domestic product, yet the educational system remains in turmoil. This issue is of deep concern to parents, political leaders, employers, and the general public. On May 19, 2005—almost coincident with our anniversary—the Education and the Workforce’s 21st Century Competitiveness Subcommittee of the U.S. House of Representatives met to examine problems in science and mathematics education that are hampering U.S. advancement. Witnesses agreed on the importance of fostering effective preK-12 science and mathematics education to help the nation maintain its technological competitiveness. The Fund first turned major attention to science and mathematics education in 1994, when we began supporting activities through our Student Science Enrichment Program (SSEP), which enables middle school and high school students in North Carolina to fully engage in hands-on inquiry-based science learning. Many members of our board recall that it was just such experiences that “turned them on” to science and encouraged them to seek scientific careers. Under SSEP, the Fund has awarded grants to 47 institutions spanning the state. Each year, we receive applications from universities, community colleges, public and private schools, museums, and other groups who offer science enrichment programs to middle school and high school students. Some of these are year-round programs and others are academic year or summer programs. With a total investment of $11 million since the beginning of SSEP, we have reached more than 24,000 students across North Carolina. SSEP gives particular attention to targeting the recruitment of underrepresented minorities and females in an effort to broaden the participation of these groups in the nation’s science, technology, engineering, and mathematics workforce. Indeed, the Fund actively solicits nominations of underrepresented minorities and women for all of our awards. As Joseph Bordogna, deputy director of the National Science Foundation, said in a recent report by the Committee on Equal Opportunities in Science and Engineering: “First it is NOT about the total number of scientists and engineers the nation may or may not need. It’s easy to get distracted by trends and statistics cited in the news and debates about whether the demand for science, engineering, and technological workers is greater or less than the supply. It IS about including a larger proportion of women, underrepresented minorities, and persons with disabilities in the scientific workforce, no matter the size of that workforce. Whatever the numbers turn out to be, we need a robust and varied mix and that means broadening participation...” As complements to our investments in SSEP and the SMT Center, the Fund has worked in other ways to strengthen the infrastructure for science and mathematics education. For example, we support the North Carolina Institute for Education Policymakers, whose purpose is to provide policymakers and the media with up-to-date information about educational issues. These efforts, it is hoped, will help legislators and other leaders make informed decisions that will improve education—and ultimately the workforce—across the state.