The Science Education Resource Virtual Diversity Center

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AbstractIn partnership with the Science.gov Alliance, the principal investigator, Dr.William E. McHenry and the co-principal investigator Dr. John S. Colonias propose tocreate a web-based comprehensive one-stop science, technology, engineering, andmathematics (STEM) educational resource tool the Science Education Resource VirtualDiversity Center (SER Virtual Diversity Center). The SER Virtual Diversity Center willfeature: (1) STEM education programs by category of federal support; (2) promisingpractices and lessons learned from federal STEM education supporting agencies as well asfrom the institutions they support; (3) STEM-based educational resources for students andparents; and (4) a virtual electronic campus designed to assist institutions in sharingSTEM educational courses and degree programs using the internet.Merit. The SER Virtual Diversity Center will serve as the major STEM education contentportal for federal programs that target increasing participation from women,underrepresented minorities, and persons with disabilities in the STEM workforce andeventually serve as a tool for sharing information on all strategies designed to addressthe nation's STEM workforce needs. The SER Virtual Diversity Center will usetechnology-enabled processes to connect federal agencies with each other and with highereducation faculty and administrators; K-12 teachers, counselors, administrators; studentsand parents in order to achieve dramatic improvement in efficiency for those involved inincreasing minority participation in STEM -- especially federal agencies.Impact. As outlined in the BEST Report, the participation of American students in STEMfields must dramatically increase if America is to remain competitive in a global economy.With the American population becoming more diverse, students from groups that aretraditionally underrepresented in STEM fields must be encouraged to participate.Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Hispanic Serving Institutions(HSIs), and Tribal Colleges have a record of unparalleled success with these students. TheNSF's HRD Programs, especially the Model Institutions for Excellence (MIE) and allianceprograms, are examples of the impact partnerships between the federal government andminority-serving institutions can have on increasing the capacity of those institutionsfor producing STEM professionals. Purposively, the SER Virtual Diversity Center willenable federal agency program officers to better access information across agency lines,coordinate science education initiatives, and connect agencies more directly with highereducation institutions and their faculty and school districts and their teachers,counselors, students, and parents to create STEM knowledge-based communities.The authors propose to create a one-stop SER Virtual Diversity Center through whichfederal agency program officers and others can view: (1) STEM education programs bycategory of federal support; (2) promising practices and lessons learned from federal STEMeducation supporting agencies as well as from the institutions they support; (3)STEM-based educational resources for students and parents; and (4) a virtual electroniccampus designed to assist institutions in sharing STEM educational courses and degreeprograms using the internet.