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• Mrs. MORELLA. Mr. Speaker, those of you who were with us last evening recall that I mentioned that this month is the two-year anniversary of the report that came out called ``The Land of Plenty.'' This was a report of the Congressional Commission on Advancement of Women, Minorities, and Persons with Disabilities in Science Engineering and Technology Development. It is legislation that I introduced a number of years ago, and like so much of what we know, you have to be tenacious and diligent and patient and persevere. The legislation established a commission that looked comprehensively at the challenge of under-representation in America's science and engineering workforce and the educational pathway that feeds into it. The commission called for the establishment of a public/private partnership to take America into acting to redress the stunning imbalance in America's technical talent pool. In their report to Congress, BEST presented their findings on September 26, 2002 at 8:15 a.m. in the Cannon Caucus Room, 345 Cannon House Office Building, Washington, D.C., Representatives Connie Morella and Eddie Bernice Johnson, BEST National Leadership Council Co-Chairs, presiding. (Following are edited comments. The full testimony is available at www.bestworkforce.org.)
  BUILDING ENGINEERING AND SCIENCE TALENT
  BLUE RIBBON PANELS, INTERIM PROGRESS REPORT: TO CONGRESS September 26, 2002

  Present: CONSTANCE A. MORELLA, (R-MD) National Leadership Council Co-Chair; EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON, (D-TX) National Leadership Council Co-Chair, Allan Alson, superintendent, Evanston Township High School; Dan Arvizu, senior vice president, CH2M Hill; Earnestine R. Baker, Meyerhoff Program UMBC; Alfred Berkeley, vice chair, NASDAQ Stock Market, Inc.; Rita Colwell, director, National Science Foundation; Cinda-Sue Davis, director, WISE, University of Michigan; Marye Anne Fox, chancellor, North Carolina State University; Eugene Garcia, professor, Arizona State University; Shirley Malcom, head, Education Directorate, American Association for the Advancement of Science ; Willie Pearson, Jr., professor, Georgia Institute of Technology; Anne Petersen, senior program director, W.K. Kellogg Foundation; Paula Rayman, professor, University of Massachusetts; Claibourne Smith, president, Delaware Foundation for Science and Math Education; Richard Tapia, professor, Rice University, Deborah Wince-Smith, president, Council on Competitiveness; also present, John Yochelson, BEST, testimony into RECORD: Shirley Ann Jackson, president, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.
  

  PROCEEDINGS

  MORELLA: Women, African-Americans, Hispanics, Native Americans, persons with disabilities make up two-thirds of our workforce but they hold only one-fourth of the jobs in science , engineering, and technology. We perceive this really as a vulnerability that threatens the living standards of all

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  Americans. BEST is the partnership recommended by the congressional commission. Since incorporating one year ago, BEST has assembled an extraordinary array of talent, talent to assess what's working across the whole continuum of workforce development, pre K-12, higher education in the workforce. These panels will report their findings and recommendations next spring. The benchmarks they identify and the insights they develop into what works, why it works, under what conditions it works, is going to be of very great interest to Congress and to the nation. BEST's national assessment will provide a foundation for action both at the national level as well as in communities across the country. Now the purpose of todays progress report is to let policymakers know how the work of BEST is going; and first, we're going to get a perspective on the framing of a national action agenda to meet the challenge of under-representations, and then we're going to hear from leaders involved in BEST's assessments of the workplace, higher education and pre K-12. The progress report will wrap up with a discussion of BEST's plans to spur action in the field through community engagement. I have the honor of chairing this segment and Eddie Bernice Johnson will lead the workforce discussion and then I'll return to moderate the other segments.
  TESTIMONY OF SHIRLEY ANN JACKSON, PRESIDENT, RENSSELAER POLYTECHNIC INSTITUTE AS READ IN HER ABSENCE BY ANNE PETERSEN, SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT, THE KELLOGG FOUNDATION

  PETERSEN: Thank you. It's a great privilege this morning to be stepping in for Dr. Shirley Ann Jackson. When Dr. Jackson was chair of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, she instituted policies for that agency that were based on the assessment of risk to the nation's nuclear power plants and vulnerability to that risk. The process is termed probabilistic risk assessment. Looking squarely at the vulnerability to risk determines clearly what action must be taken to reduce the risk of a particular threat. This is what BEST is doing. The work that BEST has done this past year has revealed that the United States faces serious risk of losing its economic preeminence, security, and its well-being as a nation without peer. That risk is embedded in the fact that while there is a growing need for scientists, engineers and other technologically skilled workers, the United States is simply not producing enough of them. That leaves the United States reliant upon scientists and engineers from other nations, a situation that bears its own inherent risk and curtailments as we know. Most of the numbers are included in the BEST paper, ``The Quiet Crisis'' which we present to you today, and I understand you have the series of charts as well * * *
  

  TESTIMONY OF RITA COLWELL, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION

  COLWELL: Thank you. It is an honor to be part of todays panel on building the U.S. science , engineering and technology workforce by fully developing the nation's diverse human resources. The United States has become increasingly diverse in recent decades and will move steadily in the direction of greater diversity in the future. The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects, for the decade 1998--2008, that the general labor force growth rates of minorities will more than triple the overall growth rate. But, we're not making comparable progress in changing the composition of the science and engineering workforce. It looks the same as it has for generations. We need the talent of every worker in order to keep our nation competitive and prosperous now and in the future. And in the post-9/11 world, we need to also focus more of our talent on homeland security. We live in a unique time in which every citizen must ``count'' for opportunities and must be ``counted'' for contributions to our society's well being. The well being of individuals and of the nation will depend on knowledge and skills in science , engineering& and technology. How well we prepare our human resource in these areas will determine how well we are prepared as a nation in this new century * * *
  

  TESTIMONY OF ALFRED BERKELEY, VICE-CHAIRMAN, NASDAQ STOCK MARKET, INC.

  Mr. BERKELEY: Thank you, Chair MORELLA. I thank you for your persistence. I think persistence is a valuable, valuable attribute. We will not win this problem without staying focused and persistent. You might ask what does the stock market have to do with the education business? I will tell you: a constant theme of my conversations with the chief executive officers of the largest technology companies in the county) both in information technology and biotech, is where are they going to get enough technically trained workers and that handful of brilliant scientists that make the difference in breakthroughs? I think that this audience should know that the technology community has been shaken to its foundation by the loss of U.S. supremacy in supercomputing. Japan now has supercomputers 30 times more powerful than ours having followed a technology path that we abandoned about ten years ago * * * My goal this morning was to affirm to you that the business community is firmly interested in this endeavor and that we can bring substantial resources to bear on research-based solutions that are working and are proven to work * * *
  

  TESTIMONY OF WILLIE PEARSON, JR., GEORGIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY

  PEARSON: Now I will briefly discuss the objectives of the higher education panel. First, we wanted to have a comprehensive examination of the challenge of increasing both the quantity and quality of university graduates from under-represented groups in science , engineering and technology. Our second goal was to identify and critically analyze exemplars whose design principles merit adaptation and replication across the country. The third was to further develop policy recommendations discussed in ``The Quiet Crisis'' paper. Because higher education provides a strategic bridge between pre K-12 and the workplace, the panel has focused on measurable outcomes reinforced by the earlier discussions. As you can see, at each segment beyond the high school level the science and engineering talent gets smaller and smaller for the whole population in particular but especially for African Americans, Hispanics, and Native Americans * * *
  

  TESTIMONY OF MARYE ANNE FOX, CHANCELLOR, NORTH CAROLINA STATE UNIVERSITY

  FOX: You know it's been over 50 years in which there's been an explicit compact between the research universities and the government of the United States that research universities would provide leadership in developing a workforce that is appropriate for the economic growth of this nation. That is research universities have pledge to create knowledge, to provide innovative leaders for developing the frontiers of science , for leading economic recovery and for providing a workforce that can sustain and create jobs and wealth for the United States. But over those 50 years, we've not had full participation as we've heard in the earlier discussions. If we go to K-12 to look at the roots for this difference in participation level, we're well aware of the digital divide which is a challenge. But to think of the digital divide as something that is related only to computer availability minimizes the real problem * * *
  

  TESTIMONY OF RICHARD TAPIA, PROFESSOR, RICE UNIVERSITY

  TAPIA: Thank you. My topic is university program leadership, producing women and under-represented minorities in science and engineering programs at research universities. I'll start with point one, everything i.e. success or failure depends on leadership, strong, forceful, respected, effective leadership. The second point, administration from top to bottom must support the activity. This is absolutely necessary to promote buy-in at the faculty level. If the administration doesn't support, then the faculty has a way out, extremely important to have the administration support but they don't do the activity, they support it. Success in promoting underrepresented minorities and women in science , engineering and mathematics, requires a champion. The champion must be a respected member of the faculty. The champion will serve as an advocate. We can't continue to have a two-tier or fragment our system. Minority-serving institutions do good jobs. Ph.D. producing at minority-serving institutions will not produce the scientific leaders of the community or the professional organizations. The outreach activity is not rewarded at research universities. Often this activity will jeopardize the university career of a young faculty member * * *
  

  TESTIMONY OF CINDA-SUE DAVIS, DIRECTOR, WOMEN IN SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING, UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN

  DAVIS: Good morning. The University of Michigan Women in Science and Engineering Residence Program, called the WISE-RP, is a living-learning community for 120 first year women and 33 sophomore or junior level women interested in science , mathematics, and engineering. The primary purpose of the WISE-RP is to provide academic and personal support to undergraduate women, including historically underrepresented minority women, by providing an academically and socially supportive community. WISE-RP provides contiguous living arrangements in a mid-size coed residence hall of 500 students * * *
  

  TESTIMONY OF EARNESTINE BAKER, MEYERHOFF SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM, UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND, BALTIMORE CAMPUS

  BAKER: The Meyerhoff Scholarship Program is designed to address the particular needs of African American students in science , mathematics, and engineering. Key components of the Program include: an in-depth screening process that seeks students genuinely committed to a postgraduate research-based degree and career; a comprehensive four-year scholarship package; a mandatory academic Summer Bridge program for incoming freshmen; study groups; community living and regular ``Meyerhoff Family'' Meetings; personalized advising and counseling; tutoring summer research internships with companies, federal agencies, and other research universities; mentoring; faculty involvement; administrative involvement; family involvement; community service; and extensive program evaluation. Eighty-eight percent of participants are pursuing post-graduate degrees primarily doctorates in science , mathematics, and engineering or medical/ doctorate degrees, at institutions ranging from Harvard, Stanford, Berkeley, Yale, Duke, Johns Hopkins and Oxford * * *
  

  TESTIMONY OF DAN ARVIZU, SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT, CH2M HILL

  ARVIZU: It is established we have a serious problem. The questions before us are, what

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  can be done about it? and, who should do it? Our Panel's work addresses these questions from the perspective of the workplace. Let me start by stating the two core objectives of the Panel. Number one, we are to identify and distill the success factors and best practices that create a more inclusive workplace spanning the private sector, including industry and academe, as well as, government. This distillation will form the foundational asset base that can be accessed by BEST's proposed test-bed community programs as they get underway. Number two, we are to develop an action agenda that moves the country forward toward the adoption of these best practices. Although the work of the panel is not yet complete, I can report on some of our initial findings on success factors and provide some of our early thinking as we move into the recommendations phase of our work. First, and perhaps most important, is what we will call ``transformational'' leadership. Leaders who believe in and value diversity as a business imperative invest time and effort to change the future of their organizations. They drive this change deep into the culture and management of the organization and do not simple espouse it only in the top layer of management. Second, a commitment to skills development that translates diversity into enhanced performance is also an important success factor. Third, the development of enabling programs and policies to encourage and support a diverse workplace is extremely important * * *
  TESTIMONY OF PAULA RAYMAN, PROFESSOR, UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS

  RAYMAN: To build upon the rationale for diversity presented by my honored colleagues Dan Arvizu, and Dr. Shirley Jackson I will address the crisis we are facing in our nation's science and technology workplaces. We face a work world in the midst of an enormous change. Nothing is the same as it was 50 years ago or even 20 years ago. And more dramatic changes are anticipated over the coming decades. We face a crisis on three dimensions: Where will the new science jobs be? Who will fill the jobs? How the work will get done or, what is the changing nature of work? It is important to note that while we compete for science and technology workers within the context of a global economy, the diversity of our own nation's labor force provides a comparative advantage. Diversity is a key building block of economic competitiveness and scientific discovery and innovation. In addition to the change in skill sets, and demographics, the nature of work itself is undergoing significant transformation brought about by the changing business climate and technological advances. These changes include: companies organized so labor is a variable, not a fixed cost; a workforce built on the premise of teams that can be easily assembled and disassembled; a nimble workforce whereby workers hopscotch from job to job, even career to career, carrying their set of skills and abilities on their backs and desperately needing new policies in portability in health insurance, pension plans and other benefits * * *
  

  TESTIMONY OF CLAIBOURNE SMITH, PRESIDENT, DELAWARE FOUNDATION FOR SCIENCE AND MATH EDUCATION

  SMITH: I believe business/industry/government and the great educational institutions of this country must take the lead in defining the strategies necessary to maintain our leadership position in the world. From the intense discussions of our workforce panel, we are entertaining a two-pronged agenda to: Drive change within organizations and to drive change externally among industry, academe, and government as employers to promote a diverse workforce. Let's look at an example that comes to mind which illustrates an approach utilized by my former colleagues at duPont. We established a set of principles that are still effective in increasing our company's diversity internally. These principles are: (1) Leadership must come from the top echelons of the organization. Managers must ``walk the talk.'' An institution must have highly visible, fully involved, visionary leaders in order to make valuing diversity efforts a success. (2) Accountability for personal and organizational behavior must exist. A system must be in place to motivate behavior change and that means diversity performance must be linked to compensation and advancement. (3) Valuing diversity must be perceived as a critical part to the success of the organization i.e., a business imperative. (4) Education around this issue must not only raise awareness, but more importantly, develop skills needed to work in and manage a multicultural organization. (5) Finally, effective mentoring programs for women and underrepresented minorities must be developed and implemented * * *
  

  TESTIMONY OF SHIRLEY MALCOM, HEAD, EDUCATION DIRECTORATE AMERICAN ASSOCIATION FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF SCIENCE

  MALCOM: When President Bush and the nation's governors met in Charlottesville in 1989, they established ambitious national education goals. These goals were affirmed and expanded upon by the Congress of the United States. The goals included that we would raise achievement levels in all academic fields and, even more ambitiously, that we would be first in the world in mathematics and science achievement by the year 2000. When in 1995, the results were announced from the Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TLMSS), there was good news and bad news about science and mathematics achievement of U.S. students when compared with the performance of students from other countries in the world. The results of TIMSS showed U.S. fourth grade students comparing quite favorably in their performance on tests of science , both scoring far above average and among the top tier of countries. Performance by fourth graders in mathematics was about at the average compared with other countries involved in TIMSS. When fourth grade students were tested in eighth grade in 1999, performance had fallen to the average levels in science and slipped in mathematics as well. The performance of 12th graders in science and mathematics was near the bottom. This underperformance by U.S. students was true even for our brightest and best performing students, such as those taking advanced placement courses in physics. The current structures provide neither equal chances nor a level playing field, and it is these circumstances that we must remedy if we are to maximally utilize the talents of all of our young people. These must include: Vigorous support for systemic reform efforts to improve the quality of the curriculum, teaching and support within our schools, with assurance that opportunities for study of science and mathematics will be extended to all students; specific interventions that allow students to explore STEM fields, such as through summer camps, research apprenticeships, after school science clubs, museum activities and media-reinforced learning opportunities; outreach to parents and communities to help them organize activities at home and in the community to support science , technology, engineering, and mathematics aspirations, to build demand for school reform, and to increase community-based opportunities for learning beyond school * * *
  

  TESTIMONY OF EUGENE GARCIA, PROFESSOR, ARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITY

  GARCIA: Clearly, in this endeavor, we know the pathway to science and technology of the future begins in the Pre K-12 sector, if not earlier. So our efforts at BEST are to look very carefully at the beginning pathway or the beginning steps into science , technology and mathematics. Our students depend heavily on the public school system and other alternatives to move forward to those futures that we believe should be available to all children in this country. BEST has a particular way in which we are striving to open the doors to the world of science , technology and mathematics for all children. First, the membership of BEST feels that we need to understand what is now working for students in this arena--particularly with our target populations in mind. BEST is attending to the strict notion that we need to understand empirically ``what works''. We need to have good research-based information, solid evidence, and clear knowledge about which program make a difference for whom, how they make a difference, and what are the actual results. The reason we are so attached to this notion of having solid evidence for what works is that if anyone needs to move forward and invest resources, whether they be in the public or in the private sector, we must be able to inform them as to whether their investments will pay off. It is only fair to those individuals who implement programs or systemic efforts to change systems in response to this need, to assure them that all children will be served by their interventions and/or changes. Thus, we need the absolute superior evidence. Therefore, BEST, in lending the text to the context that Shirley has presented, needs to understand in this area of urgency, what BEST programs, and what BEST systemic changes really do work * * *
  

  TESTIMONY OF ALLAN ALSON, SUPERINTENDENT, EVANSTON TOWNSHIP HIGH SCHOOL

  ALSON: I am in my eleventh year as superintendent of Evanston Township High School in Evanston, Illinois. This large comprehensive high school with a national reputation for excellence has 3200 students and is quite diverse--racially, socioeconomically and linguistically. Student achievement, despite impressive gains, continues to reveal racial and class achievement disparities. Yet, we have made significant strides, for example, in boosting female and minority enrollment in Calculus and Advanced Placement Science courses. A little over three years ago I founded an organization known as the Minority Student Achievement Network. We are 15 urban-suburban districts devoted to discovering, developing and implementing strategies to eliminate the racial achievement gap. Our strategies include conferences where we learn directly from students and teachers, and research where teachers are directly engaged in studies with university professors. My professional experience has revealed the extensive gap in education between research and practice. Quite frankly, it is the rare exception when districts or schools are able to successfully bridge that gap. Practitioners generally receive very little training in the interpretation or use of research findings. In fact, research methodology that meets the highest standards of reliability and validity are quite often written in language that is unfamiliar to the teacher or administrator. Our worlds usually do not overlap sufficiently for us to make timely use of significant findings. Simply put, while it would be far preferable to examine our practice from the vantage of current research, the barriers of time, language and politics often interfere * * *

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  TESTIMONY OF ANNE PETERSEN, SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT, KELLOG FOUNDATION

  PETERSEN: Thank you for this opportunity to speak with you on a topic about which I am most passionate--not only because I am a scientist but also because I have seen individuals, families and communities transformed by opportunity that for some, has been unavailable. The opportunity to gain an education and pursue a career in engineering or the sciences is still precious in our society. Today, more than ever, we must support the interests in science and technology for all with talent and energy, and especially those who have been underrepresented. I'm here today as a scientist who is senior vice president for programs of the W.K Kellogg Foundation. In this role I've witnessed the kind of creative and energetic work that can open doors of opportunity for all--girls and boys, African Americans, Hispanics, and Native Americans, and those who are physically challenged. Engagement--real engagement--in which institutions of higher education and communities form lasting relationships that influence, shape, and promote success in both spheres is rare. More often we see evidence of unilateral outreach from colleges and universities rather than partnerships based on true mutual benefit mutual respect, and mutual accountability * * *
  

  TESTIMONY OF DEBORAH WINCE-SMITH, PRESIDENT, COUNCIL ON COMPETITIVENESS

  WINCE-SMITH: In 1986 the United States was facing one of its most dire economic challenges since the end of World War II: the country slid from being the world's largest creditor to its largest debtor; its position as a global leader in technology and innovation was declining and American industries were losing market share to international competitors. We know that long-term U.S. productivity growth and a subsequent rising standard of living depends on our ability to increase U.S. innovative capacity. This top tier policy issue was the focus of two national innovation summits hosted by Council that convened the nation's top business, government, academic and labor leaders. A key impediment to increasing innovation is our workforce, which comes as no surprise to anyone in this room. Yet, even as demand for science and engineering talent grows, the number of science and technology degrees at the undergraduate and graduate degrees has remained flat or declined in every field outside the life sciences. Boosting the national talent pool in science and engineering requires that the S&E workforce mirror the population at large; we must be able to engage more women and minorities in math and science to sustain our innovation economy. The Council has acted on its commitment to raise the standard of living by initiating programs that encourage excellence in math and science and diversity in the science and technology pipelines--namely getsmarter.org and BEST * * *

  
  

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