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OCR for page 201
Marye Anne Fox, Chancellor,
North Carolina State University
This Summit revealed what many participants already knew: the U.S.
science and engineering workforce includes too few native-born Ameri-
cans, with particular underrepresentation among women and minority
groups. Most young Americans are choosing careers outside of science,
mathematics, and engineering, which are the basis for innovation in the
development of new technologies that drive our economy. Our K-12
schools graduate only 27 percent of their students with training in pre-
calculus,~ the first stepping-stone to an SHE career. Half of college fresh-
men intending to major in SHE abandon that major before their sopho-
more year2 one reason our universities rank 61st out of 63 countries in
converting college undergraduates to B.S. degreed graduates in the natu-
ral science and engineering disciplines.3 Existing workers in several
fields notably electrical engineering and computer science find there
is only weak supporting infrastructure for the constant retraining required
to keep up with their fields (IEEE).4 At every level of education and em-
iNational Center for Education Statistics. National Assessment of Educational Progress. Wash-
ington, DC: Dept. of Education, 2001. Also available: http://nces.ed.gov/pubs2001/
2001498.pdf.
2Nancy M. Hewitt and Elaine Seymour. Talking About Leaving: Why Undergraduates
Leave the Sciences. Boulder CO: Westview Press, 1999.
3U.S. students graduating with degrees in the natural sciences or engineering as a percent-
age of total degrees ranks 61st in a list of 63 countries. National Science Foundation. Science
and Engineering Indicators 2002 [Appendix Table 2-18]. Arlington, VA: NSF, 2002. Also
available: http: / /www.nsf.gov/sbe/srs/seindO2/start.htm.
4From Instititute for Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) position paper within.
OCR for page 202
PAN-~CANIZAHONAL SUMMIT
ployment, women and minorities are significantly underrepresented in
S&E positions.5 By 2010, these "underrepresented" groups will constitute
72 percent of the college-age cohort.6
Yet, despite these shortcomings, American science is still strong and
innovative. The combined effects of foreign S&E workers entering this coun-
try7 and the ability of U.S. industry to outsource or relocate to other coun-
tries~ have meant on a global scale that demand has often adjusted to
supply, and vice versa. But the national loss remains: lost jobs and lost op-
portunities for new businesses and national leadership. Without broader
participation, the technological superiority that has served the U.S. so well
may be held captive in the future to an inefficient S&E labor system that
threatens our continued ability to lead in scientific innovation.
This Summit has been held in order to showcase and consolidate com-
munity views on policy directions regarding this complex and urgent is-
sue. For over a year, the Government-University-Industry Research
Roundtable (GUIRR) has sought to define a common ground on which
existing organizations might combine resources to mobilize and tackle
areas of mutual interest. Summit presenters identified at least nine such
areas of common interest and concern (see introduction). This outcome
should help policy leaders focus on those approaches currently receiving
the most community support.
5National Science Foundation. Science and Engineering Indicators 2002 (pp. 3-12 to 3-16~.
Arlington, VA: NSF, 2002. Also available: http://www.nsf.gov/sbe/srs/seindO2/start.htm.
6In the year 2010, current trends project that 37 percent of the college-age U.S. population
will be from minorities of both sexes and another 35 percent of that population will be
nonminority women. U.S. Bureau of Census. Projections of the Resident Population by Age,
Sex, Race and Hispanic Origin: 1999 to 2100. Washington, DC: Government Printing Office,
2000. Also available: www.census.gov/population/estimates/nation.
7Foreign-born, S&E-trained U.S. scientists and engineers represent 12.2 percent of the total
S&E workforce. National Science Foundation. Science and Engineering Indicators 2002 (Text
Table 3-24~. Arlington, VA: NSF, 2002. Also available: http://www.nsf.gov/sbe/srs/
seindO2/start.htm.
BUS. Department of Commerce. Office of Technology Policy. Globalizing Industrial Re-
search and Development. Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, 1999.
Representative terms from entire chapter:
urgent issue
