<html xmlns:v="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:vml" xmlns:o="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" xmlns:w="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:word" xmlns:st1="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40">
<head>
<META HTTP-EQUIV="Content-Type" CONTENT="text/html; charset=us-ascii">
<meta name=Generator content="Microsoft Word 11 (filtered medium)">
<!--[if !mso]>
<style>
v\:* {behavior:url(#default#VML);}
o\:* {behavior:url(#default#VML);}
w\:* {behavior:url(#default#VML);}
.shape {behavior:url(#default#VML);}
</style>
<![endif]--><o:SmartTagType
namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="PlaceType"/>
<o:SmartTagType namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags"
name="PlaceName"/>
<o:SmartTagType namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags"
name="State"/>
<o:SmartTagType namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags"
name="country-region"/>
<o:SmartTagType namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags"
name="place"/>
<!--[if !mso]>
<style>
st1\:*{behavior:url(#default#ieooui) }
</style>
<![endif]-->
<style>
<!--
/* Style Definitions */
p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal
{margin:0in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman";}
a:link, span.MsoHyperlink
{color:blue;
text-decoration:underline;}
a:visited, span.MsoHyperlinkFollowed
{color:purple;
text-decoration:underline;}
p
{mso-margin-top-alt:auto;
margin-right:0in;
mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
margin-left:0in;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman";}
span.EmailStyle17
{mso-style-type:personal-compose;
font-family:Arial;
color:windowtext;}
@page Section1
{size:8.5in 11.0in;
margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in;}
div.Section1
{page:Section1;}
-->
</style>
</head>
<body lang=EN-US link=blue vlink=purple>
<div class=Section1>
<table class=MsoNormalTable border=0 cellpadding=0 width=600 bgcolor=white
style='width:6.25in;background:white'>
<tr>
<td style='padding:3.75pt 3.75pt 3.75pt 3.75pt'>
<p class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center'><font size=1
color=black face=Arial><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:Arial;
color:black'>New Report Offers Guidance for Enhancing Diversity in Science
and Engineering, <br>
as Attacks on Minority Recruitment Threaten <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place
w:st="on">U.S.</st1:place></st1:country-region> Competitiveness <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=1 color=black face=Arial><span style='font-size:
9.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:black;display:none'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<table class=MsoNormalTable border=0 cellpadding=0 width=600 bgcolor=white
style='width:6.25in;background:white'>
<tr>
<td style='padding:3.75pt 3.75pt 3.75pt 3.75pt'>
<table class=MsoNormalTable border=1 cellpadding=0 bgcolor="#FEFFF4"
style='background:#FEFFF4'>
<tr>
<td style='padding:7.5pt 7.5pt 7.5pt 7.5pt'>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>More than a year
after the U.S. Supreme Court affirmed the value of diversity in higher
education but struck down formulaic or points-based approaches to
undergraduate admissions, a new report attempts to clear up the confusion
created by the dual rulings. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p style='margin-bottom:12.0pt'><em><i><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>Standing Our Ground:
A Guidebook for STEM Educators in the Post-Michigan Era </span></font></i></em><font
size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:
Arial;color:navy'>-- released Monday by AAAS, the world's largest general
science society, and NACME, the National Action Council for Minorities in
Engineering -- clarifies legally defensible options for protecting
diversity in science and engineering programs. </span></font><font size=1
color=black face=Arial><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:Arial;
color:black'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=1 color=black face=Arial><span
style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
<p><font size=1 color=black face=Arial><span style='font-size:9.0pt;
font-family:Arial;color:black'>"In the particular context of science and
engineering, this country's under-utilization of its human resources is a
problem of critical proportion that will, if ignored, seriously impinge on
the national and economic security interests of this country," the
report concludes. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p><em><i><font size=1 color=black face=Arial><span style='font-size:9.0pt;
font-family:Arial;color:black'>Standing Our Ground</span></font></i></em><font
size=1 color=black face=Arial><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:Arial;
color:black'> proposes eight "design principles" for increasing the
participation of minorities in science and engineering. Most importantly, the
report urges campus leaders to specify diversity goals within their
institutional missions, noting the lack of legal guidance from the U.S.
Administration, and by the intimidation tactics of special interest groups. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p><font size=1 color=black face=Arial><span style='font-size:9.0pt;
font-family:Arial;color:black'>"Without specific intent and legal
guidance, minority recruitment, enrollment, and support is inhibited,"
said AAAS President Shirley Ann Jackson, president of Rensselaer Polytechnic
Institute and a report contributor. "The need to promote educational and
workforce diversity is critical to <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place
w:st="on">America</st1:place></st1:country-region>'s future competitiveness
on the global stage. Without a strong science and engineering workforce our
economic and national security interests are at risk." <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p><font size=1 color=black face=Arial><span style='font-size:9.0pt;
font-family:Arial;color:black'>The Phase III (Hart-Rudman) Report of the U.S.
Commission on National Security, issued only months before the September 11,
2001 terrorist attacks, asserted that the "failure to manage properly
science, technology and education for the common good over the next quarter
century" is "a greater threat to U.S. national security over the
next quarter century than any potential conventional war that we might
imagine." <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p><font size=1 color=black face=Arial><span style='font-size:9.0pt;
font-family:Arial;color:black'>In fact, said John Brooks Slaughter, president
and chief executive officer of NACME, "Improving minority participation
at all levels of higher education, especially in scientific and engineering
disciplines, is critical for <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">America</st1:place></st1:country-region>.
In this time of momentous global advances in science and technology, our
country can no longer afford to have a sizable and growing portion of its
population underrepresented in these increasingly important fields." <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p><em><i><font size=1 color=black face=Arial><span style='font-size:9.0pt;
font-family:Arial;color:black'>Standing Our Ground</span></font></i></em><font
size=1 color=black face=Arial><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:Arial;
color:black'>, emerging from a recent think-tank sponsored by the Alfred P.
Sloan Foundation, provides legal guidance on two Michigan rulings that
affirmed the importance of a diverse learning environment, but struck down
the use of race as a quantitative "plus factor" in undergraduate
admissions decisions. The mixed <em><i><font face=Arial><span
style='font-family:Arial'>Grutter</span></font></i></em> and <em><i><font
face=Arial><span style='font-family:Arial'>Gratz</span></font></i></em>
messages, issued in June 2003, triggered confusion among academic,
non-profit, and federal institutions seeking to extend the benefits of
education to all. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p><font size=1 color=black face=Arial><span style='font-size:9.0pt;
font-family:Arial;color:black'>Historically, the <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place
w:st="on">U.S.</st1:place></st1:country-region> federal government has
helped institutions to navigate such rulings, by providing legal
interpretations, usually through the Justice Department. Yet, the report
notes, "It has been over a year since the Michigan cases, and even the
Office of Civil Rights remains silent," except for two reports on
"race-neutral alternatives," the effectiveness of which have been
questioned by analysts. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p><font size=1 color=black face=Arial><span style='font-size:9.0pt;
font-family:Arial;color:black'>At the same time, "Universities have been
subjected to a campaign of intimidation so that a bunker mentality now
prevails, despite the fact that targeted recruitment is still perfectly
legal," said report co-author Shirley M. Malcom, director of Education
& Human Resources at AAAS. Since the <st1:State w:st="on"><st1:place
w:st="on">Michigan</st1:place></st1:State> rulings, two advocacy groups --
the Center for Equal Opportunities and the American Civil Rights Institute --
have questioned an array of minority recruitment and other intervention
programs. According to <em><i><font face=Arial><span style='font-family:Arial'>The
Chronicle of Higher Education</span></font></i></em> (19 March, 2004), these
two groups have sent some 1,000 letters to colleges since last summer,
threatening to file complaints with the U.S. Office for Civil Rights.
Further, the National Association of Scholars said 23 March this year that it
was sending letters to "selective public colleges" in 20 states,
demanding details on "university policies, practices, or procedures,
formal or informal, relating to the use of racial and ethnic considerations
in admissions to or eligibility for any undergraduate, graduate, or
professional school program, activity, or benefit." <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p><font size=1 color=black face=Arial><span style='font-size:9.0pt;
font-family:Arial;color:black'>How can program administrators protect
diversity goals in the post-Michigan era? <em><i><font face=Arial><span
style='font-family:Arial'>Standing Our Ground</span></font></i></em> features
a "legal primer" to help guide university counsels in interpreting
the <em><i><font face=Arial><span style='font-family:Arial'>Grutter</span></font></i></em>
and <em><i><font face=Arial><span style='font-family:Arial'>Gratz</span></font></i></em>
rulings. It also describes eight "design principles" that may serve
as a checklist for faculty and administrators alike. In summary, the report
notes, "There is no cookie-cutter approach" that will work in all
settings. Instead, explains report co-author Daryl E. Chubin, director of the
<st1:place w:st="on"><st1:PlaceName w:st="on">AAAS</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType
w:st="on">Center</st1:PlaceType></st1:place> for Advancing Science &
Engineering Capacity, "We propose that universities take a
program-by-program approach, and be mindful that 'race-neutral alternatives'
are not required; they simply must be considered." <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p><font size=1 color=black face=Arial><span style='font-size:9.0pt;
font-family:Arial;color:black'>Specifically, <em><i><font face=Arial><span
style='font-family:Arial'>Standing Our Ground</span></font></i></em> provides
guidelines or design principles for developing legally defensible programs
focused on the preparation of minorities, women, and persons with
disabilities for careers in science, mathematics, and engineering. Most
importantly, the guidelines urge university leaders to ensure that diversity
efforts fit within a broader mandate. "Universities need to take on a
strong leadership role that unambiguously states a commitment to diversity in
their mission statements," the AAAS-NACME report concludes. Planners
also are urged, for example, to specify program goals and target populations;
to define the program's character so that any consideration of race is
"not mechanical, but flexible;" to conduct evaluation and research
on outcomes; and to pursue diverse faculty recruitment and retention. Campus
leaders must be "willing to take risks in order to realize the rewards
inherent in a more diverse campus or organization," the report notes. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p><font size=1 color=black face=Arial><span style='font-size:9.0pt;
font-family:Arial;color:black'>Chubin adds: "<em><i><font face=Arial><span
style='font-family:Arial'>Standing Our Ground</span></font></i></em> provides
practical advice on the problems of bringing minorities into science and
engineering fields, offering strategies that go beyond holistic evaluation in
admissions while preserving the university's right to recruit and serve a
diverse student population." <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p style='margin-bottom:12.0pt'><font size=1 color=black face=Arial><span
style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:black'>The full report can be
found here <a
href="http://nacmeenews.c.topica.com/maacH11abatm6a8DkzDcaeQyfF/"
target="_blank"
title="http://nacmeenews.c.topica.com/maacH11abatm6a8DkzDcaeQyfF/"><font
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-family:"Times New Roman"'>here</span></font></a>.
<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<div class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center'><font size=1
color=black face=Arial><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:Arial;
color:black'>
<hr size=1 width="90%" noshade color="#e0cf01" align=center>
</span></font></div>
<p><font size=1 color=gray face=Arial><span style='font-size:7.5pt;
font-family:Arial;color:gray'>Since 1974, the <a
href="http://nacmeenews.c.topica.com/maacH11abatm5a8DkzDcaeQyfF/"
target="_blank"
title="http://nacmeenews.c.topica.com/maacH11abatm5a8DkzDcaeQyfF/"><strong><b><font
color=red face=Arial><span style='font-family:Arial;color:red;text-decoration:
none'>National Action Council for Minorities in Engineering, Inc. (NACME)</span></font></b></strong></a>
has provided leadership and support for the national effort to increase the
representation of successful African American, American Indian and Latino men
and women in engineering and technology, math- and science-based careers. </span></font><font
size=1 color=black face=Arial><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:Arial;
color:black'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p><font size=1 color=gray face=Arial><span style='font-size:7.5pt;
font-family:Arial;color:gray'>The <a
href="http://nacmeenews.c.topica.com/maacH11abatm7a8DkzDcaeQyfF/"
target="_blank"
title="http://nacmeenews.c.topica.com/maacH11abatm7a8DkzDcaeQyfF/"><strong><b><font
color=red face=Arial><span style='font-family:Arial;color:red;text-decoration:
none'>American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)</span></font></b></strong></a>
is the world's largest general scientific society, and publisher of the
journal, Science. AAAS was founded in 1848, and includes some 262 affiliated
societies and academies of science, serving 10 million individuals. </span></font><font
size=1 color=black face=Arial><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:Arial;
color:black'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<div class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center'><font size=1
color=black face=Arial><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:Arial;
color:black'>
<hr size=1 width="90%" noshade color="#e0cf01" align=center>
</span></font></div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=1 color=black face=Arial><span
style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
</body>
</html>