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VOLUME 23 • NUMBER 14

Also available in Digital Format Hispanics in STEM

Overcoming Roadblocks

STEM Scholarships

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® Publisher – José López-Isa VP & COO – Orlando López-Isa

Editorial Board

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Editor – Jason Paneque News & Special Project Editor – Mary Ann Cooper

Mildred García, President California State University-Fullerton Juán González,VP Student Affairs University of Texas at Austin

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Lydia Ledesma-Reese, Educ. Consultant Ventura County Community College District

DC Congressional Correspondent – Peggy Sands Orchowski

Gustavo A. Mellander, Dean Emeritus George Mason University

Contributing Editors – Carlos D. Conde, Michelle Adam

Loui Olivas,Assistant VP Academic Affairs Arizona State University

Online Contributing Writers – Gustavo A. Mellander

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Editorial Policy The Hispanic Outlook in Higher Education Magazine® is a national

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magazine published 23 times a year. Dedicated to exploring issues related to Hispanics in higher education,The Hispanic Outlook in Higher Education Magazine® is published for the members of the higher

Article Contributors

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Frank DiMaria, Marilyn Gilroy, Susana Hernández, Angela Provitera McGlynn, Miquela Rivera, Jeff Simmons, Gary M. Stern

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Esquina E ditorial

The

refrain we here throughout the country is: Where are the jobs? When politicians ask the question, it seems more rhetorical in nature and as an opportunity for them to take shots at the opposing party for not doing enough to create jobs or promote job growth. For many hi-tech and science-based industries the question of jobs takes on a different form. They want to know where are the graduates skilled to do STEM jobs that are becoming a major part of the work force of tomorrow. A new national report released by STEMconnector, a STEM information database, and My College Options, a college-planning website, titled Where are the STEM Students? What are Their Career Interests? Where are the STEM Jobs? shows how pressing a need it is for America to train young people in STEM careers. Otherwise those jobs will be filled outside of the United States, ceding superiority in science and technology to other nations. In 2012, there were almost seven and a half million people with careers in the fields of science and technology. It is estimated that by 2018 there could be close to nine million STEM jobs that need filling, not counting self-employed people. At HO, we have been reporting on and closely following the growth and evolution of STEM careers among minority students for years. In this issue, we shine a bright spotlight on the latest in the care and feeding of STEM careers and recruitment – especially as it relates to innovative programs and ideas to encourage Hispanics to enter these professions. As a recent U.S. News & World Report headline explained, “STEM Education Is the Key to the U.S.’s Economic Future.” And we have no time to lose to start using that key. ¡Adelante! Suzanne López-Isa Editor-in-Chief

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by Carlos D. Conde

LATINO KALEIDOSCOPE

The Legacy of Hugo Chávez, the Redeemer hen Venezuelan president Hugo Chávez died in March after losing a battle with cancer, there was wailing in the streets of Caracas and a blaring of car horns and rattling maracas celebrating his death in some South Florida communities. The latter were predictable scenes in that southernmost U.S. area where many of the foreign self-exiled Venezuelans and expatriates from the Latin American region wait for the day when whoever their nemesis or whatever their troubles made them leave their home country will be avenged. The Florida display seemed a bit macabre, liken to those dancing on the grave of an enemy they judge has finally received his comeuppance and is sure to rot in hell for all the grief and despair he caused them and other members of their community. It was the opposite scene in the homeland where a large group of Venezuelans venerated him as a Godsend and displayed their sorrow openly over the passing of a man many considered a brave, compassionate leader who had the fortitude and finally the power to do doing something for the poor and neglected. More than just president of all Venezuelans, he was regarded a champion of the discriminated and disenfranchised because of their color and background. Chávez was one of them, a pardo of mixed race. In Latin America, particularly among the criollo communities, that’s usually the bottom of the social rung. History will judge if Chávez was an egocentric nationalist bent on leading his country into chaos and ruin because of his prejudices against the oligarchs and society’s swells and the social and economic war he waged against them in the name of what he came to categorize as the Bolívarian movement or “socialism of the 21st century.” Chávez would have much better liked to be remembered – and better yet, venerated – as the second coming of South America’s liberator, Simón Bolívar. Chávez did not live long enough to accomplish this, but he made a good start in his 14 years as president and was beginning another six-year term in which he promised, for better or worse, more of the same. There are contrasting ways to measure the worth and the achievements of a personality and leader like Chávez. Throughout its history, Latin America has had its share of military despots, demagogues and maniacal, corrupt leaders bent on pursuing their prejudices and in the process leading their country to ruin and anarchy before they were eliminated. There are Venezuelans in the country and in selfimposed exile who thought that of Chávez, but this is arguable although he did have his autocratic ways. Chávez, democratically and freely elected, was a wannabe Bolívar who preached the “Bolívarism” reformation of his country and the deliverance of the poor and disenfranchised in his self-styled redeemer ways. He venerated Bolívar’s legacy to the point of ridicule by some of the Venezuelan community, usually his detractors who were careful to tread lightly on his political idiosyncrasies lest vengeance come crashing down on them. In 2010, Chávez exhumed the remains of Bolívar in the National Pantheon in Caracas. To some, his reverence sounded a bit kooky, like having a conversation with his mummified hero, and placing an empty chair next to his at cabinet meetings – which the ghost of Bolívar symbolically occupied. Symbolism it might have been, but it served to cast Chávez in Bolívar’s

image as the modern-day liberator of his people from not only political bondage but also the social and economic deprivations they had endured in the past from uncaring, corrupted administrations. Chávez and presidential allies like Bolivia’s Evo Morales, Ecuador’s Rafael Correa and Daniel Ortega of Nicaragua comprised the socialist “Pink Tide” in Latin America that defined their Bolívarian doctrine as antiimperialist and laissez-faire capitalism. He embraced Cuba’s Castro brothers as revolutionary comrades while they enjoyed Venezuela’s oil largess. His ambition, in the mold of his hero, was to extend his Bolívarian movement to other Latin American nations largely thru petro-dollar diplomacy, but most leaders rejected or ignored his entreaties and his at-times convoluted political rhetoric aimed mostly at Yankee imperialism. Whatever Chávez’s political idiosyncrasies, Venezuela is awash in petroleum resources, more than the Middle East countries and Saudi Arabia could only wish for. It has 387 years of proven oil reserves with Saudi Arabia second and Canada third. It has the largest reserves of heavy crude oil with an estimated 99.4 barrels and is the fifth-largest oil exporting country in the world. The U.S. accounts for 65 percent of Venezuela’s exports. Venezuela is super-rich and will be for years to come as long as the world is addicted to petroleum energy. Chávez used a lot of the country’s oil money to pursue his own ideas of equitable society. He based it largely on his personal background of being born and raised in a poor, underclass environment and enduring the discrimination that such status brings. It will be up to historians to assess his legacy, but you can’t deny that Chávez, despite his egocentric and sometimes chaotic ways, forged a new awakening for a oncemarginalized segment of Venezuelan society and in the process improved their once-wretched life bypassed by Venezuela’s material wealth. Some fault him for some of his supposedly illdesigned, spendthrift ways that extended past his countrymen and mostly fed his ego. Latin America being Latin America, there’s no doubt that Chávez’s policies and rule weren’t always textbook applications, but he did bring a social renaissance in health, education and welfare endeavors. Venezuelans are a beautiful people in a beautiful country, literally and figuratively. I lived and worked in Caracas in the ’60s as a foreign correspondent and got to know the people and the vast countryside and its history and traditions. One of my daughters is married to a Venezuelan. The Chávez reign had its good purposes and accomplishments and brought some equity to a once-bifurcated nation. Accept it or not, an important transformation in Venezuela’s destiny is taking place that with its economic and social resources should serve to amalgamate all elements of a proud, productive country.

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Carlos D. Conde, award-winning journalist and commentator, former Washington and foreign news correspondent, was an aide in the Nixon White House and worked on the political campaigns of George Bush Sr. To reply to this column, contact Cdconde@aol.com.

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MAGAZINE® APRIL 15, 2013

CONTENTS Florida International University Creating a New Generation of STEM Students by Jeff Simmons

+ X

Wanted: Hispanics in STEM Careers

by Mary Ann Cooper

Overcoming Roadblocks to Student STEM Success

by Angela Provitera McGlynn

19 Opportunities and Obstacles: Getting More Women Interested in STEM by Frank DiMaria

Page 12

APLU Supports Practices to Increase Minority Male STEM Participation by Marilyn Gilroy

Georgia Tech Committed to Attracting Hispanics to STEM by Michelle Adam

7 Top STEM Scholarships for Latinos

by Gary M. Stern

Online Articles Some of the above articles will also be available online; go to our website: www.HispanicOutlook.com.

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DEPARTMENTS Latino Kaleidoscope

by Carlos D. Conde

The Legacy of Hugo Chávez, the Redeemer

Scholars’ Corner

by Susana Hernández

Interesting Reads

Page 24

Book Review

by Mary Ann Cooper

My Beloved World

Priming the Pump... Adolescent Self-Injury

by Miquela Rivera

Back Cover

HO is also available in digital format; go to our website: www.HispanicOutlook.com.

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STEM INITIATIVES

Creating a New Generation of STEM Students

by Jeff Simmons

daykis Rodríguez arrived in the United States from Cuba when she was 8 years old, as her mother sought a better life. She recalls the doors of opportunity began to crack open even as a youngster. Her father never attended school, and her mother pursued vocational studies but never graduated. Idaykis was enrolled in public elementary school in southern Florida, and as she completed each grade, she developed a love of reading, history and art. By high school, opportunity came knocking – via the world of science. “It wasn’t until high school when I really got involved in science,” Rodríguez said. “I had amazing teachers in chemistry and physics, and I always thought I’d be a chemist first.” But a physics teacher at Félix Verala High School in the Miami-Dade Public Schools system witnessed her potential and offered encouragement. “He really motivated me to go forward,” she recalled. And she did. Rodríguez graduated near the top of her high school class in 2003, and by then she knew she would pursue studies – if not a career – in science or engineering and at a nearby university. “I applied at Florida International University,” she said, describing a desire generated by a college application fair, where she was impressed with Florida International University’s (FIU) offerings in the STEM fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics. She successfully applied for a scholarship to study engineering, pondering a future as a mechanical or civil engineer. Soon after she arrived, though, Rodríguez course-shifted and landed in what is now her home, the field of physics. It was, she said, the result of her entrance into an extremely welcoming department at FIU. “I always chose what I liked, and what I thought I would be good at,” Rodríguez said. “I was good at math and at science, so that was what I pursued.” Yet, she did struggle, initially unable to balance the demands of work and school. She divided time between studies and work in a lawyer’s office, and her grades suffered; she failed two classes. That early setback prompted her to seek an alternative, and she discovered FIU’s Physics Learning Center.

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The center not only offered a warm space, with a classroom, conference room and lounge. It was a place where physics students could study, receive tutoring, and forge friendships. She also found work there tutoring classmates. “It became a very nice area for students to hang out and communicate and share their time together, and it became very beneficial,” said Rodríguez, who is now 28 years old. “FIU is excellent. It is very rigorous, but at the same time, if you get acquainted with the right people and right friends, it is very supportive. Not only are the professionals interested in helping you succeed, but also everybody helps each other. You could come in and just ask a question, and all of a sudden you have a new friend.” Rodríguez’s experience illustrates the commitment that FIU has made to develop a healthy, rigorous array of options for students wishing to pursue STEM-related studies. In February 2012, President Obama’s Council of Advisors of Science and Technology offered five recommendations to boost the number of STEM graduates by one million in 10 years. FIU’s experience has well positioned it to contribute to that endeavor. FIU has long focused on areas highlighted in the president’s report, offering educational experiences that encourage students to discover, educate and innovate. The school has garnered $20 million in active STEM education-related grants, faculty members adhere to an active-learning approach, and student mentorships pave the way for them to conduct lifealtering research. Hispanics represent a significant portion of FIU’s current 50,000-student enrollment, which is expected to swell to 62,000 by 2020. FIU repeatedly has been ranked No. 1 in the country for awarding bachelor’s and master’s degrees to Hispanics – having been featured numerous times in The Hispanic Outlook in Higher Education Magazine’s annual Top 100 issue. FIU’s 2011 report noted a fall 2010 headcount of 44,010 students, 60 percent of which were Hispanic; 60 percent, full-time; and 75 percent, undergraduates. In 2010-11, FIU awarded 1,151 STEM bachelor’s degrees, of which 81 percent were awarded to minority students. At the graduate level, 45 per-

cent of the 471 STEM degrees were awarded to minority students. And in 2010-11, a quarter of FIU’s undergraduate students and 16 percent of the graduate students were pursuing a STEM-related degree. Overall, the number of bachelor’s degrees awarded to Hispanics has steadily escalated, rising from 3,169 in 2006-07 to 4,156 in 2010-11; likewise, the percentage of all bachelor’s degrees conferred on Hispanics rose from 64 percent to 68 percent during that time. FIU counts 7,500 undergraduate students majoring in STEM fields and is estimated to impact more than 20,000 high school students by educating STEM teachers on the peer-led, active-learning model. Meeting the president’s goal will require elevating the number of Hispanics who pursue and receive STEM degrees, and FIU maintains that a network of research-driven STEM centers focused on underrepresented minorities must be in place. “We take very seriously the opportunities that are available in Florida and nationally in STEM, so we spend an awful lot of time in the development of pipeline programs with the Miami-Dade public schools,” said Mark B. Rosenberg, FIU’s president. “That is critical as a means to ensure that students have the ability to address the rigor of STEM once they get to the university.” FIU historically has invested in strengthened STEM offerings; as far back as two decades ago, the university developed ties between its engineering department and a nearby high school. “We’ve always taken our responsibility seriously, and we don’t wait until students just get to FIU,” Rosenberg said. In fact, FIU launched collaboration with the Miami-Dade system – the nation’s fourth largest school district – when Rosenberg became president in 2009. That has involved quarterly meetings with 15 task force groups to address issues such as student achievement and matriculation. FIU’s STEM Transformation Institute is leading the region’s commitment to 100Kin10 movement, which aims to train 100,000 STEM teachers over the next decade. Efforts also include training 200 local public school teachers in STEM fields at 26 low-performing schools within the next five years. Last year, FIU’s College of Engineering and Computing hosted a threeday workshop to develop concrete steps to broaden participation among underrepresented minorities in engineering. That culminated in the goal of raising the percentage of underrepresented minorities graduating with engineering degrees from its current 12.4 percent to 20 percent by 2025. “We view the STEM opportunity as something that does not just begin when the students get here, but we attempt to develop those pathways early on, making sure that students understand that being in science, or engineering or math is for them,” Rosenberg said. A perfect example, he said, is Rodríguez, who Rosenberg called a “good role model because she really didn’t intend to study physics or be in physics education.” “She doesn’t come out of a privileged background; she comes out of a background very similar to the backgrounds of many of our students: first generation in our country, experiencing hardship, and with limited opportunities to get a higher education except for the local university,” Rosenberg said. “She speaks to the opportunities in STEM that are available for people who show they can master the field.” After experiencing the welcoming atmosphere in the Physics Learning Center, Rodríguez dove into the field, particularly high-energy physics. At one point, she spent a summer semester at a nuclear lab in Virginia per-

“FIU is excellent. It is very

rigorous, but at the same time, if you get acquainted with the right people and right friends, it is very supportive.” Idaykis Rodríguez, FIU graduate student pursuing a Ph.D. in physics forming an independent study in a condensed matter lab. While studying and working at the center, she heard about the university’s Physics Education Research Group (PERG), which focuses on the development, implementation and study of research-based reform for physics and physics education programs. And she embraced PERG’s

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In 2010-11, FIU awarded 1,151 STEM bachelor’s degrees, of which 81 percent were awarded to minority students. At the graduate level, 45 percent of the 471 STEM degrees were awarded to minority students. approach to nontraditional classroom instruction. About 30 students learned in a studio-based format, which involved frequent hands-on activities, and barely any lectures. “Students were able to experiment with physics, and learn through these experiences,” she said. She attended several PERG meetings and volunteered, assisting PERG with data collection. Soon, though, she found herself on the other side of the classroom, helping students to better learn physics. “That kind of work is really meaningful, and I could see the fruits of our work right away, and students learning and understanding,” Rodríguez said. “I felt like being a computer processor or processing data still was interesting, but the real drive was the satisfaction I got from seeing students understand different ways or methods of getting a point across. Helping students was more of my calling, something I really wanted to do.” Dr. Laird Kramer, associate professor of physics, first joined FIU’s faculty as a nuclear experimentalist in 1996 but in recent years turned to building a transformational education outreach model. Since 2003, he has led FIU’s Center for High Energy Physics Research and Education Outreach’s education outreach component. “We care about supporting and getting more physicists into the work force and strongly advocate for those students,” Kramer said, who has sought to counter the impression of limited career options for those who major in physics. “There are lots of options for physics out there.”

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The Physics Learning Center that drew in Rodríguez has served as a pivotal mechanism to entice students, and awaken their love of physics. He pointed to her arrival not long after the center opened, saying she helped to turn expectations of the community into a reality. “We try to be very student-centric, and students came to us and asked if they could have access at night, and we said ‘sure,’” he said. “It was hard for them to find a spot to settle down between classes. We realized this was key to those who wanted to become physics majors. This is a big draw; they see a strong support structure and that includes the courses, the space, advising, mentoring and life counseling.” The center has transformed the undergraduate physics experience at FIU, empowering students and establishing a high school-university research and learning community. Rodríguez graduated in 2008 with a Bachelor of Science degree, with a major in physics and a minor in mathematics. Her experience with FIU and, in particular, PERG led her to target only one school for the next chapter in her academic studies: FIU. As a graduate student, she is paying it forward and using her STEM education along with her passion for physics and teaching to help minority students like herself to reach their goals. During her first year of graduate school, she served as a teaching assistant in a lab. There she taught modeling classes with more hands-on experiments versus traditional lectures. Recently, a nearby school faced an urgent need for a physics teacher,

and she stepped into that role to instruct five at-risk high school students who commuted to FIU. “I made it more fun for them by making it more interactive,” she said. “It was my first experience. I was scared of being in charge of somebody. But being open with them about who I was, what I wanted from them, and how I was going to do things really opened up lines of communication.” Geraldine Cochrane, 29, has known Rodríguez for several years and began attending FIU in fall 2010. She is pursuing her Ph.D. in physics as well, with a specialty in secondary school teaching. “I was especially fond of physics because I could make direct application of what I was learning through experiments and laboratory activities,” she said. “My career goal is to continue in the fields of science, physics and astronomy education by teaching, conducting research and engaging in outreach.” Like Rodríguez, she acknowledged the national disparity in Hispanics involved in STEM fields, even though many of her classes at FIU have been incredibly diverse. “The push for more students of color is an issue dear to my heart,” she said. “There are, unfortunately, still disparities in the areas of STEM when it comes to minorities resulting in their being underrepresented in the field. STEM is an area of national need, and minorities are a major resource that should be utilized.” Cochrane added, “It is my belief that diverse perspectives in problemsolving, innovations and inventions result in better products than those of homogenous groups due to the increased variety of background, experiences and ideas brought to the effort.” She first met Rodríguez at a Physics Education Research Conference in Canada and found her research of interest. Rodríguez, she said, is an

example of progress and inspiration. “I think Ida’s presence alone is inspiring to both females and minority students, both of which are still underrepresented in the field of physics,” Cochrane said. “Ida’s focus on identity helps her to remain cognizant of the representation of who can and should be physicists. She expresses this to her colleagues, students and acquaintances. I think this is encouraging to students of color because Ida believes that people of all sorts can and should pursue careers in STEM if they so desire.” This past summer, Rodríguez’s work earned her a spot at the 62nd Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting in Germany, where she met with more than 25 Nobel Prize winners and had the opportunity to discuss her graduate research on physics education and expertise. She is poised to earn a Ph.D. this spring, the result of hard work, perseverance and influence from her family and her teachers. “Growing up, I lived in a family where it was always that you had to go to school. I always liked school, and getting an education was always my primary purpose. To come here from Cuba and not become a professional was ridiculous. I knew I had to do something with my life,” she said. Graduation isn’t the end but instead is leading to a new chapter. On the cusp of graduation, she is expecting a baby and applying for jobs. Whatever course she chooses, it will be one that is rooted in a desire to give back. “Ideally, I see myself where I would do the most good, where I can help future generations of students pursue STEM,” Rodríguez said. “I think many people have blinders on and feel that physics or science is too hard for ‘regular’ people. They don’t see the potential in us. I think that role models become very critical for new generations to understand that it can be done and that anybody can do it, especially somebody like them or me.”

The Hispanic Outlook Also Available As A

Digital Magazine!

Vice President for Student Success Burlington County College, a comprehensive multi-campus two-year college in New Jersey’s largest county, with affiliation agreements providing four-year degrees from several major leading universities, is seeking qualified applicants to fill the position of Vice President for Student Success.

The Vice President for Student Success is responsible for the leadership, administration, and management of the core Student Success functions including Academic Advising and Programs, Testing and Tutoring, the Educational Opportunity Fund, Student Activities and Programs, Athletics, VA and Military Affairs and Student Support Services. Also responsible for developing, implementing and evaluating student success strategies with emphasis on increasing retention of first in family and traditionally under-served populations. Works with Faculty and staff to promote best practices in student retention and works with at-risk students. Responsible for the supervision of staff, fiscal performance and academic program development.

Qualified applicants will have a minimum of a Master’s degree in personnel student services or related field. A relevant Doctorate is preferred. Additionally required is a successful, demonstrated, and proven track record of a minimum of seven (7) years experience in higher education with supervisory experience as an educational leader, working effectively with student success, retention and assessment.

For a full description and to apply online, go to www.bcc.edu. The online application system will allow you to attach a resume and cover letter electronically. If you need assistance or have questions, call Human Resources at (609) 894-9311 X 1390. Burlington County College is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer.

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STEM INITIATIVES/REPORTS

Wanted: Hispanics in STEM Careers A

nalysts predict that in order for the United States to remain competitive worldwide in the field of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM), it will have to train approximately one million more STEM professionals over the next 10 years. That means the U.S. will have to increase the number of students earning these degrees by about a third of the students in STEM training, according to the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology report released in 2012. The reason the United States is playing catchup with the rest of the world is due to the fact that we have one of the lowest rates of STEM to non-STEM bachelor’s degree production worldwide. The roots to this low rate can be found in a 2008 study that showed that as recently as 10 years ago STEM accounted for 17 percent of all degrees awarded in the United States compared to the international average of 26 percent. This puts colleges and universities under enormous pressure to increase their STEM population and degree earners. Now need has bumped up against demographics in academia. With an eye toward the burgeoning Hispanic population, colleges and universities are trying to understand why more Hispanics aren’t attracted to STEM careers and what can be done to encourage them to enter these fields. In a white paper prepared and updated in 2012 for the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU) titled Overview of Hispanics in Science, Mathematics, Engineering and Technology (STEM): K-16 Representation, Preparation and Participation, University of Texas-San Antonio authors Gloria Crisp and Amaury Nora paint a picture of current Hispanic STEM career aspirants and what has to be overcome to encourage more Hispanics to pursue STEM training. Crisp and Nora preface their white paper painting this compelling picture of what exists and what needs to change. They state, “The demand for skilled workers in STEM fields will be difficult, if not impossible, to meet if the nation’s future mathematicians, scientists, engineers, information technologists, computer programmers, and health care workers do not reflect the diversity of the population (Institute for Higher Education Policy, IHEP, 2010). Hispanics are the fastest-growing and youngest

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group in the United States. It is estimated that Hispanics will comprise 30 percent of the U.S. population by 2040 and will be the majority group in several states (U.S. Census Bureau, 2008). At the same time however, Hispanic students are underrepresented in STEM fields (U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, 2010). Increasing the percentage of Hispanics and other traditionally underrepresented minorities in STEM occupations is not only ethically and morally correct, as these groups deserve equal access to STEM fields, but allows minority groups to serve as role models and mentors for younger members of their own ethnic/racial group.” What has masked the gap in Hispanic STEM career aspirants is deceptive enrollment figures. Hispanic students have been shown to be just as likely as White students to major in STEM, but their numbers drop dramatically when it comes to completing those degrees. The white paper explains, “According to data from the Higher Education Research Institute (2010), 16 percent of Hispanic students who began college in 2004 as STEM majors completed a STEM degree by 2009, compared to 25 percent of White students.” Academics and researchers see MinorityServing Institutions (MSIs) as important vehicles to encourage Hispanics to not only choose STEM careers, but also complete their degrees. Crisp and Nora see Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs) as particularly important in this regard stating that HSIs “have the potential to increase the number of STEM degrees awarded to Hispanic students, as about half of all Hispanic undergraduate students currently attend Hispanic-Serving Institutions (Dowd, Malcolm, & Bensimon, 2009) and 40 percent of the undergraduate degrees awarded to Hispanics are granted by HSIs (Dowd, Malcolm & Macias, 2010). Further, a fifth of all bachelor’s degrees awarded to Hispanic students in STEM majors are from HSIs (Dowd, Malcolm & Macias, 2010). It should be noted that due to the large concentration of Hispanic students in community colleges, over half (53 percent) of all HSIs are community colleges.” There are many external factors that affect the choices Hispanic students make when they choose a career path. Early interest in science, math, technology or engineering needs to be recognized, cultivated and encouraged in K-12

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by Mary Ann Cooper schools, or HSIs aren’t nearly as effective in nurturing STEM career choices. But that is only one consideration. Money can also be a factor in the decision to choose a STEM career or not. Crisp and Nora explain, “Financial concerns, family responsibilities and full-time work commitments have all been shown to be factors external to the college that ‘pull’ Hispanic students away from STEM fields. Because science, engineering and mathematics degrees often take longer to complete than other college majors, financial aid takes on added importance in retaining students in those programs. Furthermore, working fulltime may serve to decrease the likelihood that Hispanic and African American students will persist in a STEM major as undergraduates.” Once Hispanics choose a STEM career, it’s up to the college to provide the type of experience that will make that choice successful for the student in their charge. The authors of the HACU white paper point to the following college experiences as ones that increase the odds of successful completion of a degree: 1) participating in an undergraduate research program, 2) participating in a club related to students’ major, 3) time spent studying alone or with others, 4) engagement with faculty, 5) academic advising from upper-classmen, 6) enrolling in key gatekeeper courses during the first year, and 7) aspirations toward attending medical school.

All STEM Degrees – 2010 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25.

Institution Name

Florida International University The University of Texas at El Paso Texas A & M University-College Station The University of Texas-Pan American The University of Texas at Austin The University of Texas at San Antonio University of Florida South Texas College Arizona State University University of Central Florida University of Arizona University of California-San Diego California State Poly University-Pomona New Mexico State University-Main Campus University of California-Irvine University of Houston University of California-Davis University of California-Los Angeles University of South Florida-Main Campus University of California-Berkeley University of New Mexico-Main Campus University of Miami Georgia Institute of Tech-Main Campus San Diego State University ITT Technical Institute-San Bernardino California State University-Long Beach Florida State University Technical Career Institutes The University of Texas at Brownsville

State FL TX TX TX TX TX FL TX AZ FL AZ CA CA NM CA TX CA CA FL CA NM FL GA CA CA CA FL NY TX

Total

1,149 670 3,524 425 3,058 856 3,047 228 2,253 1,501 1,821 2,782 1,105 618 2,213 1,244 2,537 2,373 1,494 3,239 810 684 3,623 919 274 979 1,113 373 158

Hispanic 563 400 329 328 323 320 297 209 205 196 192 192 191 189 183 177 169 167 163 162 159 150 143 142 135 126 126 126 126

Latino 371 245 204 189 218 173 228 131 124 118 107 115 149 136 113 115 88 99 100 107 94 86 109 87 124 90 82 119 79

Latina 192 155 125 139 105 147 69 78 81 78 85 77 42 53 70 62 81 68 63 55 65 64 34 55 11 36 44 7 47

Hispanics 49% 60% 9% 77% 11% 37% 10% 92% 9% 13% 11% 7% 17% 31% 8% 14% 7% 7% 11% 5% 20% 22% 4% 15% 49% 13% 11% 34% 80%

Source: NCES-IPEDS DATABASE ALL DEGREES ONLY STEM 2010

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Overall Degrees Compared to Science, Technology, Total

Sex and race/ethnicity

Total 1 Sex

Male

Female Race/ethnicity White

Black

Associate Percent

Number

of total

3,351,049

849,452

1,381,351

322,916

Number

of STEM

Percent

Bachelor's

STEM

Number

258,259

88,232

of STEM

1,650,014

409,618

706,633 943,381

197,423

212,195

288,974

27,791

526,536

170,027

2,269,826

552,863

179,132

1,167,499

304,147

112,211

25,756

140,316

Hispanic

113,905

Number

of total

1,969,698

365,624

Percent

34,107

164,844

60,251

33,986

513,717

141,227

55,092

13,344

Race/ethnicity by sex Male

White

950,697

216,072

Hispanic

116,490

42,232

Black

118,049

36,136

10,193

1,319,129

336,791

118,881

187,657

69,979

15,747

10,009

56,171

12,127

653,782

147,747

85,224

14,447

Female White

Black

Hispanic

247,575

77,769

23,914

108,673

21,859

Includes other racial/ethnic groups not shown separately in the table.

NOTE: STEM degrees, as defined here, include mathematics; natural sciences (including physical sciences and ences; and computer/information sciences. Degree-granting institutions grant associateâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s or higher degrees and field of degree, and sex were used to estimate race/ethnicity for students whose race/ethnicity was not reported. U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Integrated Postsecondary Education Data 14

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Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Degrees Percent

Master's

Percent of total

Number

of STEM

Percent STEM

Doctor's

Percent

Number

of total

Number

Percent

STEM

Number

of STEM

STEM

693,025

154,016

158,558

82,584

275,197

70,557

76,605

39,925

417,828

83,459

81,953

42,659

445,038

86,129

104,426

51,200

43,535

7,304

8,085

3,412

170,203

33,999

50,705

23,839

15,525

3,059

3,641

1,524

274,835

52,130

53,721

27,361

28,010

4,245

4,444

1,888

76,458

22,120

54,338

11,693

3,438

8,255

10,417

3,622

6,795

4,053

1,394

2,659

biological/agricultural sciences); engineering/engineering technologies; health professions and related clinical sciparticipate in Title IV federal financial aid programs. Reported racial/ethnic distributions of students by level of degree, Race categories exclude persons of Hispanic ethnicity. System (IPEDS), Fall 2010, Completions component.

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STEM INITIATIVES/REPORTS

Overcoming Roadblocks to Student STEM Success

The

by Angela Provitera McGlynn STEMtech Conference is an international meeting that emphasizes increasing student success in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) at all levels. At the 2012 conference, more than 400 sessions focused on improving STEM education, better aligning educational systems with each other and local work force needs, and exploring technology’s role in the teaching and learning processes. The 2012 STEMtech Conference was held Oct. 28-31, 2012, in Kansas City, Mo. Hosted by Johnson County Community College and Metropolitan Community College, the conference session materials may be downloaded from the site: www.league.com/stemstech. College and university faculty members, K-12 teachers, administrators, government officials, community and business/industry representatives, and others involved in STEM education and information technology gathered to explore research, best practices and other ideas with their colleagues from across the country and around the world. The 2012 STEMtech Conference emphasized implementing STEM education in a way that reflected the interdependence of STEM subjects, as well as partnerships involving school districts, community colleges, fouryear institutions, and business and industry. The conference attempted to provide a comprehensive community-based approach to STEM education. One of the numerous sessions offered was titled “Breaking Through Roadblocks in Students’ STEM Pathways.” The presenters, Dr. Claire Phillips, dean, STEM Division of Lone Star College in Houston Texas, and Dr. Ann van Heerden, professor of chemistry from the same institution, discussed institutional barriers standing in the way of student success and then offered institutional solutions to overcome those barriers. Phillips and van Heerden discussed numerous institutional barriers that seem to be typical for most of our nation’s high schools and community colleges. One barrier to enrolling more STEM students is the lack of high levels of advising both at the high school and community college levels. Additionally, there are steep institutional costs to create and maintain the kinds of special support programs that are needed to promote academic success among STEM students at all levels of higher education. Another institutional barrier to student STEM success is that many academic systems push students to major in a very specific STEM field too early for them to know what is best for them, thus limiting their chances for success. There are other issues that reflect problems for students who are interested in STEM fields, particularly those students who start college underprepared. For example, students who need to begin with developmental course work can see that the time to complete a STEM degree could be five or six years adding greatly to their college expenses. This factor alone may de-motivate students and lead to lack of STEM degree completion. Math requirements are often gatekeepers keeping many students from STEM fields. For STEM majors, Phillips and van Heerden show the math sequence required at their institution for STEM majors. The path begins with transitional math and then college algebra. If students are underprepared to

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do college algebra, they must take one or two foundation courses. Following college algebra is trigonometry, pre-calculus, calculus I and II and then either calculus III or linear algebra or differential equations. Obviously, this is a time-consuming and labor-intensive journey. A student would have to be highly motivated and well prepared to enter a STEM field with these requirements. The findings of S. James Gates and Chad Mirkin (Science, March 30, 2012) support what we know about retention struggles for STEM students: 60 percent of students entering college intending to major in a STEM subject end up graduating in a non-STEM field. In their report titled Engage to Excel: Producing One Million Additional College Graduates with Degrees in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics, the researchers state that economic analyses predict that our nation will need one million more STEM graduates over the next decade than we are currently producing. Gates and Mirkin offer explanations for the disappointing finding that undergraduate students leave STEM majors during the first two years of their college experience. They say there are primarily three reasons: uninspiring introductory courses, difficulty with the required math and an academic culture in STEM fields that is often inhospitable and unwelcoming. This is especially so for members of groups who have been underrepresented in STEM fields, namely women and minorities. Current college demographics show that women and minorities make up 70 percent of all college students but earn only 45 percent of STEM degrees. Classroom atmosphere has been an issue since the 1970s when researchers started noticing that certain groups of students, those traditionally kept out of the academic world – women, minorities, first-generation and low-income students – had a college experience different from White middle-class and upper-middle-class males. They confronted an environment that was reluctant to have them there. This was true more so at some institutions than others, among some college professors more than other professors, and in some fields more than in others. While the atmosphere has become more hospitable for these groups than it was decades ago especially because of changing demographics of our college populations, there are still plenty of pockets of inhospitable institutions and classrooms. STEM disciplines seem to be among the last to change their environments. For retention of underrepresented students to improve, classroom atmosphere and the affective dimension of learning must be addressed. Kuh, Kinzie, Buckley, Bridges & Hayek (2012) have data to support the Gates and Mirkin findings. According to their report, Community Colleges in the Evolving STEM Education Landscape, 40 percent of AsianAmericans complete their STEM degrees and a third of White students finish their STEM studies while only 20 percent of underrepresented students who start out in a STEM field complete their degrees. Although the STEM completion picture looks dim, particularly for women, Hispanics, Blacks and other underrepresented students, there are encouraging solutions to remedy the shortage. Phillips and van Heerden discussed institutional solutions during their

presentation at the STEMtech Conference in Kansas City. They say that in order to graduate more STEM field majors, there must be top-level support at institutions for the programs and their students and there must also be grass-roots initiatives, what they refer to as top-down/bottom-up approaches. Strategic planning is basic to institutional success and ultimately to student success. Additionally, Phillips and van Heerden suggest that middle schools offer STEM camps and colleges engage in 2 + 2 partnerships (high schools and community colleges and community colleges and senior institutions). Articulation agreements between community colleges and four-year institutions and reverse transfer agreements are important along with statewide

agreements related to transfer of credits. The “starting early” concept is an important part of future academic success in STEM fields. Lone Star College, for example, targets STEM students from middle school all the way through college. The college’s goal is to get these young students to the campus early and often and to engage parents as well as the students. [Many other studies have shown the effectiveness of parental involvement, especially for Hispanic parents and communities.] STEM enthusiasm can capture middle school students, and then high schools can host regional science Olympic-type events and emphasize the STEM subjects in rigorous high school curricula. Transitioning from high school to college, a difficult task for so many teens but especially for underrepresented students, can be eased in a number of ways. High schools and colleges could offer dual credit so that high school students are amassing college credits while still in high school. This not only helps low-income students reduce their college hours and expenses, it also gets

them familiar with the college and its support services. Summer enrichment and bridge programs are valuable ways to increase overall academic success in college. There could be tailor-made bridge programs for women and minorities particularly in math readiness that would facilitate their college success. Early, ongoing and intrusive advisement can be particularly helpful to STEM students. At the college level, Phillips and van Heerden say that active-learning pedagogies are an absolute must in STEM classes. Students should also be encouraged to participate in STEM learning communities and in STEM service learning. Studying abroad is often an enrichment and motivator of academic success as well. Additionally, Phillips and Heerden offered some advice on keys to STEM success. They suggest: • Relate learning in STEM fields to course outcomes • Involve the parents • Encourage STEM student mentoring • Develop honors contracts • Offer student STEM clubs • Create service learning opportunities and class projects • Provide paid peer mentoring • Identify former successful STEM students and bring them back to act as role models The researchers mentioned earlier, Gates and Mirkin, are members of the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST), so they advise the president. In Engage to Excel, Gates and Mirkin make recommendations for solving the STEM shortage that emphasizes proven pedagogical strategies that engage and motivate students to complete their academic degrees. These researchers suggest that the federal government should initiate a widespread adoption of these empirically validated teaching practices. The “best practices” for higher education are not necessarily new approaches, since the research has been piling up for three decades showing that these teaching strategies are effective for promoting academic success and degree completion but they haven’t been widely disseminated. Their suggestions of pedagogical strategies that work for all students but seem to be even more impactful for underrepresented populations and also seem to help STEM students persist are: active-learning approaches using case studies, problem-based learning, peer instruction and computer simulations. Gates and Mirkin show that the decades of research about active-learning classroom approaches proven to work for all students can be applied to students in the STEM field. Their research further shows that these pedagogical strategies engage students actively increasing the retention of what they learn, build their critical and analytical skills, develop positive attitudes toward STEM disciplines, and ultimately strengthen retention of STEM student majors. As an example of active-learning effectiveness, Gates and Mirkin cite a study in which students learned twice as much in a large physics class using activelearning strategies than their cohort students in a parallel large lecture class. In current higher education STEM programs, hands-on research and internship experiences that typically engage and motivate STEM students are put off until junior and senior year of college. Many students have already dropped out of STEM programs by this time. Gates and Mirkin cite studies showing that college sophomores who engaged in research projects with a professor were much less likely to leave STEM majors than those who did not. With these findings in mind, Gates and Mirkin suggest that the government should: • provide support for replacing standard laboratory courses with discov-

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ery-based research courses • launch a national experiment in postsecondary mathematics education to remedy the math preparation gap (Nearly 60 percent of students enter college underprepared in math skills to handle STEM math requirements; not only does this limit students’ ability to enter STEM careers, but it also costs colleges about two billion dollars per year for math developmental education) Many of PCAST’s recommended proposals could be put in place simply by refocusing current STEM investments. The suggestions of this President’s Council on Advisors on Science and Technology address the most critical barriers to STEM student retention. The recommendations have the poten-

tial to transform America’s college classrooms. What they recommend should be implemented in order to prepare students to fill 21st-century jobs, make up for the looming STEM shortage, and position our nation’s work force to be innovative, creative and competitive in a global economy. Angela Provitera McGlynn, professor emeritus of psychology, is an international consultant/presenter on teaching, learning and diversity issues and the author of several related books.

Scholars’ Corner We all know one or two individuals who would have impacted and transformed the institutions of higher education that we have come to know. I can’t help but think of the ways my parents would have enacted their leadership had they been given the opportunity to enroll in postsecondary education. I can only imagine the endless positive outcomes that higher education can extend to Latino students, if they are afforded equitable pathways to enroll and persist in higher education. As a first-generation doctoral candidate at Iowa State University, I examine how federal policy discursively shapes Latino educational opportunity and equity. My research disrupts traditional and conventional policy analyses and raises imperative understandings of how Latino educational opportunity is constructed. I am also engaged in an ongoing research project with my major professor, Ryan Evely Gildersleeve, titled “Discourses of Opportunity.” We perform critical and policy discourse analyses of institutional, state and federal policy texts seeking to understand how various policy discourses produce different policy problems and subjects – the “targets” of policy. This project focuses primarily on policies related to educational opportunities for Latina/o immigrant communities, especially undocumented students. The aim of my scholarship is to interrogate and call attention to the inequities that plague our institutional systems and think critically about ways in which to disrupt the normative assumptions that often negatively depict Latinos. Prior to pursuing my doctoral studies, I held several student affairs positions within the Hispanic-Serving Institution office at California State University-Long Beach as well as in admissions and student outreach programs at the University of California-Irvine. In these professional capacities, I worked with high school, undergraduate and transfer students throughout the state of California to promote higher education and educational opportunity. I also worked with Latino parents and families and created meaningful ways to remain engaged with Latino families. These experiences fortified my commitment to Latino student success across all sectors of higher education. As a 2012 American Association of Hispanics in Higher Education (AAHHE) graduate fellow, I was afforded the unique opportunity to be in a space with other Latino students and scholars who were committed to addressing the inequities that result in disparate educational outcomes. Being an AAHHE fellow provided me with a rich opportunity to connect and build familia among a group of Latina/o scholars. The relationships I built during the fellowship have enhanced and strengthened my personal commitment to the Latina/o community both personally and professionally. As a familia, I know that the relationships I created were built and maintained beyond the duration of the fellowship while being grounded in a sense of community. I see these relationships fully rooted in the spirit of support, encouragement and confianza. Being part of a Latina/o collective that promotes and advocates for Latina/o success is a great opportunity and responsibility – a responsibility grounded in a relentless cooperative to ensure that all students have an opportunity to achieve their goals and dreams.

By Susana Hernández Doctoral Candidate, School of Education, Iowa State University, 2012 AAHHE Graduate Fellow

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STEM INITIATIVES

Opportunities and Obstacles: Getting More Women Interested in STEM

by Frank DiMaria

here is a disconnect between America’s unemployment rate and some facts. Although the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported a national jobless rate of 7.8 percent in December of 2012, many companies are having difficulty filling certain positions, namely those in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM). That’s because STEM jobs are increasing. The U.S. Department of Commerce Economics and Statistics Administration noted in a report from July 2011 that growth in STEM jobs was three times faster than growth in non-STEM jobs from 2000 to 2010. In addition, the STEM fields will grow 17 percent by the year 2018. Naturally, those business sectors that are experiencing this rapid growth also offer abundant job opportunities for American workers. Those who do take advantage of these opportunities and enter STEM fields are far less likely to experience joblessness than their non-STEM counterparts. “There are so many opportunities out there. For example, my company is hiring and my competitors are hiring. There are just not enough people educated in the STEM fields,” says Karen Purcell, owner of PK Electric, an electrical engineering, design and consulting firm with offices in Reno, Nev., and Denver, Colo. There is, however, one segment of the American population that is having difficulty taking advantage of these opportunities: America’s women. Currently, women hold nearly half of all jobs in the U.S. economy, yet they hold fewer than 25 percent of STEM jobs, a trend that has persisted for the past decade – even as college-educated women have increased their share of the overall work force. With an ailing economy, a unique earning opportunity is present. Women with jobs in the STEM professions earned 33 percent more than comparable women in non-STEM jobs, considerably higher than the STEM premium for men. As a result, the gender wage gap is smaller in STEM jobs than in non-STEM jobs. Purcell, who has a degree in electrical engineering, has recently written a book, Unlocking Your Brilliance: Smart Strategies for Women to Thrive in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math. She says that although salaries of women in STEM fields outpace those of women in non-STEM fields, they still have not caught up with men’s salaries. Women engineers typically make about 20 percent less than their male counterparts. Although as an engineering employee and as an employer she has never experienced this inequity, it’s not to say that salary inequity does not exist. It is real and is typically the result of a bias based on expectations, although it is typically unintentional, she says. Young women who are just embarking on engineering careers and young school-age girls who have yet to identify their desire to become engineers are unquestionably the future of the engineering profession, according to Purcell. They, she says, are the next great generation of brilliant women thinkers, problem solvers, leaders and entrepreneurs. It’s time to open the doors of engineering and the other STEM fields to American women so they can assume their roles as thinkers, problems solvers, leaders and entrepreneurs. “There are tremendous opportunities in

“Women have been involved in some tremendous engineering and scientific discoveries that if not for them would have never happened.” Karen Purcell, owner of PK Electric

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the STEM professions,” says Purcell, and we have to stop looking at just half the population” to fill the job openings. “Women have been involved in some tremendous engineering and scientific discoveries that if not for them would have never happened.” She points to voice recognition software and systems. Originally engineered for male voices, these tools were useful for only half the world’s population until women got involved in their design. Vehicle airbags, she notes, were originally designed by males for the requirements of the typically larger male frame, until, that is, women engineers started engineering airbags alongside of their male counterparts. “If the United States is going to grow and prosper, we have to look to the entire population, not just the male population,” says Purcell. Although opportunities for women in STEM professions seem almost limitless, women still face significant obstacles in the STEM professions. School-age girls are rarely, if ever, encouraged to major in STEM fields in college. “It’s not that women or young ladies are intentionally discouraged from [pursuing engineering options], it’s just that girls are not exposed to some of these career options in middle school and in high school,” says Purcell. Not only are they rarely exposed to STEM options, they are seldom encouraged to pursue such professions. Purcell quotes a poll indicating that 21 percent of girls that were asked said their parents encouraged them to be an actress while only 10 percent said their parents encouraged them to be an engineer. Those individuals who can influence the decisions made by young ladies have got to start encouraging them to pursue STEM professions as early as possible. And this influence starts both at home and in school. Purcell suggests that parents, teachers and guidance counselors get girls hooked on science, technology, engineering and math when they are young and help them to maintain that interest. They should encourage girls to enroll in STEM programs and sign up for STEM events, in school and out of school. Many of America’s largest corporations and oldest organizations offer STEM camps and programs, excellent opportunities for young ladies to explore their STEM career options. Purcell admits that it’s not always easy to persuade a middle school girl to embrace STEM, especially if she does not know what an engineer or computer programmer does. “You get to an age in middle school where you’re influenced by your friends, there’s a lot of peer pressure, and it might not be the cool thing to do. But I think as parents, teachers and guidance counselors encourage girls ... they can see

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just what the opportunities are,” says Purcell. Purcell encourages young ladies who are interested in STEM to identify a mentor and seek the advice of that individual. Whether male or female, a good mentor can be instrumental in helping a young lady overcome the lack of exposure to STEM. As in any part of life, one of the keys to success is maintaining personal confidence. Purcell suggests that young ladies interested in STEM should find “their tribe.” Everyone, she says, needs a group that supports the individual and allows the individual to flourish. Young ladies interested in STEM should join technical societies and organizations, to be with individuals who are likeminded and pursuing the same goals. Purcell is in some ways the poster child for the positive benefits of encouragement, and just how such encouragement can lead to a rewarding STEM profession. Always interested in math and science, she excelled in both subjects in high school. Noticing her interest in and aptitude for math and science, a high school physics teacher suggested she consider engineering as a profession. “Engineering? What do engineers do? My physics teacher said, ‘They can do anything.’ That seemed intriguing. That was a good answer,” says Purcell. During the college application process, she did some research on engineering and ultimately enrolled in Pennsylvania’s Widener University as an electrical engineer. “I knew that when you graduate with a degree in electrical engineering, mechanical engineering or any type of engineering it leaves you with tons and tons of opportunities,” says Purcell. Before founding PK Electrical, Purcell had a number of jobs in the engineering field. Right out of college, she worked for a research firm that dealt with aviation systems, she worked at the Pentagon and later designed lighting power and communication systems. One of the cool things about engineering, she says, is that when the contractors “complete a project using your designs you can actually see your work; you can see your design.” Realizing that an educated STEM work force can pay enormous dividends, many corporations have developed programs designed to spark interest in STEM professions. One of the more prominent is Microsoft’s DigiGirlz High Tech Camp. This program works to dispel the stereotype that only males can succeed in STEM. DigiGirlz provides young girls an opportunity to experience, firsthand, what it’s like to develop cuttingedge technology. During the DigiGirlz High Tech Camps session, young ladies listen to executive speakers, participate in technology tours and

demonstrations, network and learn through hands-on experience in workshops. Established in 2000, the camp program continues to grow and evolve with each year. Like corporations, America’s societies and organizations also find value in an educated STEM work force. The Society of Women Engineers offers a number of events around the country through its Aspire initiative. These outreach events bring girls in middle and high school together with practicing engineers. Attendees participate in events that challenge them to be creative, teach them to work with others on teams and introduce them to the world of engineering. Another program called IGNITE is offered by WisdomTools, an awardwinning education software and services firm that specializes in using the power of immersive learning technologies to deliver exemplary learning experiences. IGNITE inspires and motivates middle and high school students to learn about STEM by using a hands-on NASA curriculum integrated with standards-based, space-themed computer games and an e-mentoring program. Although IGNITE is designed to engage all students in summer and after-school programs, it’s particular focus is on engaging underrepresented and underserved students. The Girl Scouts of America is also doing its part in getting girls excited about STEM by showing them how these fields are relevant to everyday life. One program called Imagine Engineering offers girls an overview of the types of duties engineers perform. Another program called FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Robotics offers girls a glimpse into what it takes to be science and technology leaders. STEM is so prominent on the Girl Scouts radar that the organization has recently refreshed its badges to reflect its commitment to inspiring young ladies to explore STEM and the organization’s focus on 21st-century skills. Many badges now use STEM activities in typical Girl Scout fashion. For example, the Cook, Artist and Athlete Legacy badges all involve STEM components. It also offers several new badge categories specifically related to STEM. The Digital Art badges help girls build technology skills. These badges include Computer Expert, Digital Photographer, Digital Movie Maker and Website Designer. Science and Technology badges connect girls to science topics from the development of video games to the physics of roller coasters to the technology used to create new fabrics. These badges include Home Scientist, Entertainment Technology, Science of Happiness

and Science of Style. To earn the organization’s Innovation badges, they solve problems by using methods from many fields such as anthropology, engineering, graphic design and business. These badges include Inventor, Product Designer, Entrepreneur, and Social Innovator. While America’s corporations and organizations try to inspire young ladies to pursue STEM professions, so do its colleges. At York Technical College, a two-year school in Rock Hill, S.C., Cree Stout, Ed.D., chair of the engineering technology department, has been running a program she calls Girls in Engineering for the past five years. The program targets girls in sixth through ninth grade. The objective is to excite their interest in engineering and help them grow that interest. Many of the female engineers of the past “were taught you can’t do this, you can’t do that or they would have a fear of failure or a fear of maybe thinking someone else is smarter than they are. They disregarded engineering as a whole because it was not something they wanted to do,” says Stout. She wants young girls to realize that they do not have to be the smartest child in the nation to be a successful engineer, nor do they have to be the biggest fish in the pond. Engineers can be B and C students, she tells the girls in her program. Girls attend with a parent and immerse themselves in hands-on projects, like the building of bottle rockets, catapults and roller coasters. The young ladies in Stout’s program are completing the same projects that her engineering transfer students complete. These girls, Stout says, are doing entry-level engineering, and they are doing it well. One of Stout’s budding engineers was so inspired by the program that she applied to and was accepted by the South Carolina Governor’s School, an innovative high school for academically motivated juniors and seniors pursuing studies in STEM. This young lady has her sights set on Massachusetts Institute of Technology and recently attended its robotic team competition and got to see her team’s robot run live on the international space station. Although thousands of miles separate Purcell and Stout and although they have never met, they have the same mission: to inspire young ladies to pursue STEM professions.

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Opportunity Postings Tel. 201-587-8800 ext.

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APLU Supports Practices to Increase Minority Male STEM Participation

by Marilyn Gilroy oming off its 2012 landmark study of minority males in STEM disciplines, the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU) is taking action to support practices that will increase the number of Hispanics and other minorities in STEM fields. The study, issued in 2012 by APLU’s Minority Males in STEM Initiative (MMSI), says that faculty engagement, involvement in undergraduate research, and financial support are key to academic success of minority males in STEM disciplines. The findings in the report, The Quest for Excellence: Supporting the Academic Success of Minority Males in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Disciplines, are based on a survey of 1,443 STEM students, 137 STEM faculty and 71 university administrators at 14 higher education institutions. Three of the participating universities are Hispanic-Serving Institutions, including the University of Texas-El Paso, New Mexico State University and Florida International University. “The report highlights the opportunities before us to change systems and processes to more effectively support a unique segment of the U.S. population – all as seen through the lived experiences of minority males themselves and the perceptions of STEM faculty and administrators,” said Dr. John M. Lee, APLU’s vice president for access and success, which includes the advancement of public Black universities and Hispanic-Serving Institutions. “A great deal of work remains to be done at all levels of the educational pipeline.” The association has 217 members, consisting of state universities, land-grant universities, state-university systems and related organizations. APLU member institutions enroll about 55 percent of minority males who are matriculating at public universities and about 67 percent of those enrolled in public universities at the graduate level. Because of the low enrollment and graduation rates for minority males in STEM disciplines, APLU officials felt it was time to address this issue and make it an educational priority. “This is so important to the country’s com-

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petitiveness and future financial strength,” said Lee. “We are just not producing enough minority graduates, which are the fastest-growing groups in the country. We must move the needle on every group, but without growth in the number of Latinos in STEM, we cannot reach our goals.” The idea of focusing on minority males is gaining attention because of the enrollment dis-

Dr. John M. Lee, vice president for access and success, APLU

parity between males and females in colleges and universities. Women not only represent a majority of young adult college undergraduates, but they also are now nearly three-fifths of graduate students. The gender gap is even greater in minority groups. Experts say that if trends continue, the difference between Latino and Latina bachelor’s degree recipients could double in the next few decades. Many organizations, such as the Educational Testing Service, have made minority male education a focal point by trying to adopt strategies to boost minority male achievement.

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The APLU report calls for investing in infrastructure to support and sustain STEM education for minority males and identifies practices and activities that support their enrollment, retention and graduation. It offers a deeper understanding of the perceptions and experiences of students, faculty and administrators on university campuses. The recommendations provide success strategies for policymakers, secondary schools, higher education institutions, and faculty and staff at all levels. Among the key findings from the report are: • Significant achievement disparities in STEM disciplines exist between minority males and other learners • A majority of minority males in STEM attended public high schools; high-achieving minority males in STEM disciplines reported they benefited greatly from exposure to a rigorous curriculum through their respective high schools’ Advanced Placement program; educational policies are needed that ensure every school, regardless of its resources and geographic location, has an Advanced Placement or collegepreparatory program, thereby providing equal access to higher education for all students • For financing their education, minority males in STEM from low-income backgrounds who were first-generation college attendees primarily relied on Pell Grants and student loans; about 18 percent reported working 20 or more hours per week either on- or off-campus, and a majority estimated their family’s annual income to be $30,000 or below • STEM faculty reported limited financial resources and the lack of clear accountability from the highest level of the university administration for supporting the academic success of minority males in STEM • Successful minority males in STEM reported they benefited greatly from having close-knit relationships with faculty members who “understand their culture”; they also cited the importance of being engaged in undergraduate research and having formal and informal mentoring relationships

• Many institutions of higher education reported they did not have processes in place for tracking outcomes and monitoring the academic success of students by race, gender and academic discipline • University faculty and administrators recognized several common barriers to supporting academic success for minority males in STEM including severe university budget cuts, a lack of institutional scholarships, the lack of diversity among faculty, and a lack of institutional commitment Faculty and administrators who participated in the study clearly stated that the numbers of minority males in STEM won’t change “if we stick to business as usual.” They expressed concern over the lack of accountability in retaining and graduating minority males in STEM, which they interpreted as a lack of commitment on the part of their institutions. The APLU report recommends tracking outcomes by race, gender and discipline to find where the bottlenecks are, such as in what courses do students generally not succeed and what levels of intervention are needed. “We need to re-imagine and reorganize our student services so that there is a focus on getting students through,” said Lee. Some leaders in higher education have called for less emphasis on admissions and more emphasis on completion, even to the point of hiring a completion dean. Additional strategies have to include curriculum reform in secondary schools and public colleges in which students become stalled in remedial courses, says Lee. “We know that minority males often are not well-prepared in math and science, which are the gateways to STEM studies,” he said. “We think the common core standards being adopted by states will help in this area. So will the efforts by colleges to improve success in remedial programs and redesign offerings so that students are not spending

so much time transitioning to college-level work.” Several of the most promising practices for boosting minority males in STEM involve twoyear institutions where much of the growth in Latino college enrollment has occurred in the past 10 years. “We are doing a lot to encourage partnerships with community colleges because that’s where we can make the most immediate impact,” said Lee. Last year, APLU awarded grants of $100,000 to four university and community college partnerships that have been successful in increasing the number of minority males transferring from twoto four-year colleges. The partnerships include: • Alabama A&M and Lawson State Community College for their programs in broadening minority male participation in the national STEM work force by recruiting, retaining, mentoring and successfully graduating underrepresented minorities • California State University-Fresno and the State Center Community College District and its four community college campuses for the “Get Ahead?” program, which is a framework for underrepresented minority student success in engineering and construction management • University of Illinois-Chicago’s (UIC) partnership with City Colleges of Chicago (CCC) that offers a Guaranteed Admission Transfer program to CCC students who become eligible for guaranteed admission to UIC after they complete their first two years of college • University of Minnesota-Twin Cities and Minneapolis Community and Technical College, sponsors of the North Star STEM Alliance, a partnership of 16 Minnesota colleges and universities and two community organizations working to increase the number of underrepresented minority male graduates with bachelor’s degrees in science, technology, engineering and mathematics; the program is based on best practices in undergraduate research, designated cohorts and community building, faculty and peer mentoring, academic support and professional and career development These partnerships address the significant challenge of getting Latinos who start at a community college in STEM-related disciplines to stay the course and continue on for a bachelor’s and possibly a master’s degree. Financial obligations and concerns about paying for continued higher education can play a big role in determining a course of action. When students major in STEM-related two-year degree programs, such as allied health or nuclear energy, they can often

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find high-paying jobs with only an associate degree. It is very tempting for Latinos in these programs to go directly into the work force to meet their short-term economic needs, especially since they often pay for their own education as well as contribute to family incomes. In the APLU survey, the majority of Latino respondents said cost played an important role in choosing their current college/university and they were likely to use Pell Grants and student loans to pay for education. Minority males also said support from family was an important factor in deciding on a college major. For this reason, Lee says reaching out to Latino families must be part of overall STEM recruitment plans. “We know students want to make money, but that’s why we have to get information to students and their families – so that they make the best decisions,” said Lee. “This is especially important in Latino families because parents share in the decision making. We need to convince them that loans are worth taking because they will be paid back when students get jobs.” Indeed, the latest figures from the U.S. Department of Commerce show STEM jobs will be increasing in the next five years and STEM workers earn 26 percent more than non-STEM workers. Although much work needs to be done to encourage and support Latinos in STEM, the good news is that once enrolled in these programs, they seem to be highly motivated. In the APLU report, Latino males said the top three reasons for choosing a STEM major were an interest in STEM fields of study, employment goals and their own educational aspirations. Almost 45 percent of Latino males said they would like to attain a doctoral degree in their lifetime. These students also know it is not an easy path; however, 89 percent said that knew what it took to succeed and they were prepared to do whatever it takes to reach their goal. Minority males acknowledged they have to spend a lot of hours studying and preparing for STEM classes while accepting more limited time for social activities than non-STEM majors. John Lee, who was a STEM undergraduate major, agreed that it takes a lot of dedication and work. “As an engineering student, I was up until 2 or 3 in the morning working on problems that professors had assigned,” he said. “But it was an important part of the process because I learned the advantages of collaborating on some of those demanding assignments. It was a good lesson in time management and other noncognitive skills that are needed to succeed.”

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Georgia Tech Committed to Attracting Hispanics to STEM

The

by Michelle Adam College of Engineering at short time after completing their studies. best. Our students are innovative, have a strong Georgia Institute of Technology, “Quality, quantity and diversity. I don’t think work ethic, travel well and have experience known as Georgia Tech, is the you can get these three attributes anywhere else prior to graduating. They hit the ground running largest and most diverse engineering school in in the country. A lot of this has to do with the fact because we have five-year programs where stuthe country and ranks among the top five nation- that the state of Georgia decided to have one dents go to school, then work for a company wide and top 10 in the world, and then study again.” according to Gary May, dean of COE’s role in increasing the Georgia Tech’s School of number of minority students in Engineering. In 2012, Hispanic STEM fields is important at a time Business magazine listed the school when the nation is desperately lookas having the No. 1 graduate proing for ways to bring more minorigram in the country. ties and women to these fields. With Located in the heart of Atlanta, its location and size, the school has Ga., Georgia Tech in its entirety produced the most women and attracts more than 20,000 undergradBlack graduates in engineering in uate and graduate students to its camthe country, and is now committed puses every year. It has long served as to attracting a larger population of one of the nation’s top research uniHispanics to its campus as the numversities, providing national and interber of Hispanics nationwide and in national leadership in scientific and Georgia increases. technological research and education. “Because of our historical diverThe institute has also attracted a sity, we grew to be a place that weldiverse group of students to its camcomes diversity in all its forms. puses, especially given the fact that it Diversity has become a part of our is located in Atlanta, the birthplace of culture here on campus,” said May. the civil rights movement. “Over time, Hispanic students have The College of Engineering become a part of that. We have a lot (COE), the largest of the institute’s of students of Puerto Rican backsix colleges, is no exception in its ground here because of our locadiversity. With a vast degree of offertion. As a strong engineering proings – including undergraduate and gram, we also draw Hispanics from graduate engineering degrees in all across the country.” aerospace, biomedical, chemical Increasing the number of and biomolecular, civil and environHispanics at Georgia Tech and its mental, electrical and computer, College of Engineering – and helping industrial and systems, material scimore Hispanics enter into STEM ence and engineering, and mechanifields – hasn’t happened without Dr. Diley Hernández, director of Georgia Tech’s GoSTEM program cal engineering studies – it has great effort at all levels of the institute. played an important role in attractAbout 10 years ago, Hispanics made ing and graduating an increasing number of engineering campus, and all resources went to up about 3.6 percent of Georgia Tech’s campuses, minority students to science, technology, engi- this school. Our reputation started to be built up while today they make up 6.2 percent. “We had neering and math (STEM) fields of study. In nationally and internationally,” said May. “We about 590 Hispanic undergraduate and graduate addition, the college has successfully graduated also have an appreciation here for being hands- students 10 years ago, which made up about 3.6 these students from both undergraduate and on, practical and pragmatic. If you ask employ- percent of the population,” explained Jorge graduate schools into well-paying jobs within a ers to rank the top schools, they say we have the Breton, director of the Office of Hispanic

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Initiatives. “This past fall, we had over 1,300 students of Hispanic descent, about 6.2 percent of our students.” (When looking at just the College of Engineering: the fall 2002 class had 258 Hispanics undergraduates and 137 Hispanics graduates, a total of 395. This compares to the fall 2012 class, which had 681 and 201, respectively, making a total of 882 Hispanics in this college.) Improvements for Hispanics have not only occurred in numbers, but in the quality of programs offered as well. “Our academic programs have been great for decades, but the retention and enrichment activities have improved a lot in the past 10 years,” said Breton. “Six years ago, there were four Latino groups at Georgia Tech, and now we have 12. We have tripled the number of Latino organizations. They have their own goals and missions, and some of these intersect, but each group is very unique in what it is trying to achieve, from providing academic support to members to offering cultural programs.” These student groups participate in community outreach, visiting high schools and middle schools to promote college and especially STEM education. The school, through Breton’s office and others, co-sponsors many of their activities, from workshops to cultural event planning. It also invites company executives and members of NASA, among others, to visit the school and speak to its students. “They speak to the students about issues like transitioning from college to the workplace and what it means to be a minority in corporate America,” said Breton. “These events help students network in their fields and grow as individuals as they develop and enhance skills for the workplace.” While the number of Latinos attending college has increased in the past decade – especially as their overall population grows – attracting them to pursue STEM degrees has required additional effort on the part of schools like Georgia Tech and its College of Engineering. The school has had recruitment, enrichment and outreach programs, in addition to providing financial support to effectively draw more Hispanic students into its STEM areas of study. “With Hispanics, there is a lack of knowledge among the local and national Hispanic community. Many don’t know a lot about the process of applying to college, and they don’t know about financial aid and what is possible,” said Breton. “Then, many people don’t even know what STEM stands for, and don’t know what being an engineer is all about, or what it means to be a scien-

tist. This is more so in the Hispanic community.” Breton’s office, in collaboration with others, has reached out to Latino students and their families in numerous ways. To begin with, every semester the institute hosts a Latino Welcome Weekend, where current and returning students meet and learn about student groups and campus life. In addition, Hispanic Initiatives attends college fairs for minorities, and specifically Hispanics, and collaborates with a group called FOCUS to help recruit minority graduate students during a three-day event for primarily 130 Hispanic and African-American students. When Georgia Tech also hosts the Summer Undergraduate Research in Engineering and Science Program, SURE, for 10 weeks,

panels and answer questions asked by visiting students, who learn about STEM fields. In addition, Georgia Tech has provided more than 210 Latino students with privately funded scholarships at the undergraduate and graduate levels since 2002. “The scholarships and fellowships have made a difference,” said Breton. “We also give information to the community about other scholarships, like that of the Hispanic Scholarship Fund, that have helped.” While all of these programs and support initiatives impact students pursuing STEM careers, a newer Georgia Tech program, GoSTEM, directly focuses on strengthening the pipeline of Latino students from K-12 into college STEM fields. The program, which was developed in collaboration

Hispanic Initiatives meets with Latino students and shares college opportunities with them. In addition, current Latino students are recruited throughout the year to make phone calls to perspective Latinos scholars, providing them and their families with support and information on scholarships. Hispanic Initiatives has also made concerted efforts to reach out to high school and middle school Latinos in the local area. “We go into the community and work hard with parents, providing programs for them and their children,” said Breton. “In our community, a lot of parents think that college is out of reach. We tell them that this is not the case, that we would love to have them and that we are always looking for ways to enhance diversity and inclusion on our campus.” Breton also invites Latino groups on campus for half-day leadership conferences for high school and middle school students, where they learn about college life. Current students sit on

with the local Gwinnett County Public School district, began last year as a pilot effort and is now in its first phase of a five-year grant. During the pilot program, GoSTEM worked specifically with Latino high school students. It created a pathways-to-college mentoring program whereby current Georgia Tech students were hired to mentor and tutor high school students. They offered these younger Latinos information on STEM fields and helped them prepare for college. In addition, GoSTEM created a Graduate Teaching Fellow program where two graduate students, primarily of minority background, went into the high school to work with teachers for seven hours a week. They served as role models for Latinos students and helped teachers introduce STEM materials. As a third step, GoSTEM created parent involvement programs for about 80 parents in its first year. Local Latino parents received bilingual information on college access, including how to work with admissions and get scholarships.

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“The pilot program was a smaller scale of what we wanted to implement in the schools. We wanted to do something long-term and reach schools earlier,” said GoSTEM director Dr. Diley Hernández. “In order to create an interest in STEM, you have to create interest before high school, and then in high school you can give the students the tools they need to go to college.” Today GoSTEM still works with Latino students in high school, but also reaches out to middle and elementary schools. In the middle school, it has created a pathways-to-college mentoring club, and graduate students now visit there as well. In the high school, students receive one-on-one mentoring, in addition to earlier programming and new robotics clubs. The program for parents has also extended out to the entire community. “Parents expressed to us that they didn’t have one place to find all the information about college and it was hard to understand. They didn’t have a central place for information in Spanish and English as well,” said Hernández. “We created a website with resources for parents in English and Spanish. All pages also have links to information on the Internet and serve as a one-stop-shop for Latino parents and the community.” Beyond the school year, GoSTEM offers middle and high school students CEISMC Summer Programs for Enrichment and Accelerated Knowledge in STEM (PEAKS). These are one- to two-week long educational programs that pro-

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vide students unique educational experiences in STEM that are typically not included in standard K-12 curricula in most schools. In addition, local high school teachers have been invited to apply to the Georgia Intern Fellowship for Teachers (GIFT) Program each summer. The program is a paid summer professional development fellowship for middle and high school educators from throughout the state of Georgia that strives to connect classroom instruction with real-world applications in the content area in which program participants teach. Teachers are either placed in a research fellowship or an industry internship with Georgia Tech faculty or professional mentors outside of Georgia Tech, and can choose a group of students to participate with them in this program. “This is the most systemic outreach of Latinos we’ve done. And it is important because Latinos are the fastest-growing population in the U.S. and yet there are not as many graduating with STEM degrees in comparison to other populations,” said Hernández. “The STEM field is also growing, so there is a mismatch between the jobs in STEM fields and the amount of Latinos graduating into this area. We have to work harder in showing Latinos the value of STEM careers. Georgia Tech is very well placed to address this issue.” Programs like GoSTEM and others at Georgia Tech are examples of how the school is addressing Latino shortages in STEM and doing

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something about it. Students like Diego Castañeda, a senior undergraduate in mechanical engineering, have in turn benefited from these efforts, and are helping sustain the growth of Latinos in STEM. Castañeda, a first-generation MexicanAmerican raised in Georgia, applied to Georgia Tech’s mechanical engineering program in 2008 because of its prestige (currently second in the nation), affordability and diversity. Early on, he learned the importance of focusing strongly on his studies and partaking in supportive organizations like the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers and the Hispanic Scholarship Fund Scholar Chapter, where he currently serves as president. He received academic support through the Latino student community and free tutoring services provided by the mechanical engineering department. In addition, he discovered the value of giving back to the Latino community, and helping bring more Latinos into STEM. “My active involvement in student organizations has allowed me to discover an additional career passion: to engage the minority youth in math and science, not only through tutoring but also through exposure of hands-on engineering demonstrations,” said Castañeda. “Through the various outreach programs provided by CEISMC and HSF-GT, I enjoy interacting with Latino students and parents to answer basic questions about the college application process and generate interest in engineering. Knowing I can help others achieve their own dreams adds a positive sentimental value to my personal life and helps me develop leadership traits that I can apply to my engineering career.” Castañeda plans to graduate from COE with 100 to 200 other Latino engineers. While the numbers may seem small now compared to the burgeoning numbers of Latinos in the country, each graduate is a step closer to increasing the numbers of Latinos entering STEM fields. Like Castañeda, more students will be the first in their families to pursue degrees in engineering and STEM fields, and schools like Georgia Tech will have been the ones to have made that possible.

Interesting Reads Muy buenas noches: Mexico, Television, and the Cold War (The Mexican Experience) By Celeste González de Bustamante By the end of the 20th century, Mexican multimedia conglomerate Televisa stood as one of the most powerful media companies in the world. Through an examination of early television news programs, this book reveals the tensions that existed between what the government officials wanted to be reported and what was actually reported and how. It also outlines how television news programming played an integral role in creating a sense of lo mexicano (that which is Mexican) at a time of tremendous political, social and cultural change. 2013. 314 pgs. ISBN: 978-0803240100. $40.00 paper. University of Nebraska Press, (505) 277-2346. www.unmpress.com.

The Writings of Eusebio Chacón (Paso Por Aqui Series on the Nuevomexicano Literary Heritage) By A. Gabriel Meléndez and Francisco A. Lomelí Eusebio Chacón, born in Peñasco, N.M., is arguably one of the most significant and most overlooked figures in New Mexico’s cultural heritage. He was also New Mexico’s first novelist, and took pride in his pioneering efforts to establish a Nuevomexicano literary tradition. This collection of Chacón’s writings brings together samples of his work as an orator, translator, essayist, historian, novelist and poet. 2012. 288 pgs. ISBN: 978-0826351005. $45.00. cloth. University of New Mexico Press, (505) 277-2346. www.unmpress.com.

10 Things Employers Want You to Learn in College, Revised: The Skills You Need to Succeed By Bill Coplin This guide teaches students how to acquire marketable job skills and real-world know-how before they graduate. It details the essential skills students need to survive and succeed in today’s job market, based on extensive interviews with employers, recruiters, HR specialists and employed college grads. It focuses on 10 crucial skill groups: Work Ethic, Physical Performance, Speaking, Writing, Teamwork, Influencing People, Research, Number Crunching, Critical Thinking and Problem Solving. 2012. 304 pgs. ISBN: 978-1607741459. $14.95. paper. Ten Speed Press, (212) 782-9000. www.tenspeed.com.

My Beloved World

by Sonia Sotomayor, Audio CD read by Rita Moreno Random House Audio, 2013. ISBN: 978-0307913104 here are so many clichés that people use to describe extraordinary people. They are “self-made,” they have lived a “Cinderella story,” they have “pulled themselves up by their bootstraps” – all of these terms can be misused, but not in the instance of Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor. We have all heard the basics of her life story. She is a product of the tenements and projects of New York City who overcame great obstacles to graduate summa cum laude from Princeton in 1976 and from Yale Law School in 1979. She worked as an assistant district attorney in New York and then at the law firm of Pavia & Harcourt. From 1992 to 1998, she served as a judge of the U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York; and from 1998 to 2009, on the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. In May 2009, President Barack Obama nominated her as an associate justice of the Supreme Court; she assumed this role on Aug. 8, 2009. This book gives greater insight into the “great obstacles” she did overcome. The story she tells is especially impactful because, as the first Hispanic and third woman appointed to the United States Supreme Court, Sotomayor has become an instant American icon. Her life from a Bronx housing project to the federal bench is a journey that offers an inspiring testament to her own extraordinary determination and the power of believing in oneself. Think about it. Here is a woman who had a less-than-stable childhood. Her father was an alcoholic and died when she was just 9 years old. That event completely overwhelmed her mother, which sent Sotomayor to spend more and more time with her passionately spirited paternal grandmother. And as if that wasn’t enough to handle, Sotomayor was diagnosed with juvenile diabetes. That was just one more challenge for the young girl who realized she had to become self-reliant if she were to survive and thrive. At the age of 7, she learned how to give herself the insulin shots, and started to dream of what she would do with her life. With only television characters for her professional role models, and little understanding of what was involved, she determined to become a lawyer, a dream that would take her from being the valedictorian of her high school class to the highest honors at Princeton, Yale Law School, the New York County District Attorney’s Office, private practice, and appointment to the Federal District Court before the age of 40. Along the way, the book details the life lessons she learned from her mentors, a failed marriage, and an extended family of cherished friends and their children. The audio version of the book is a special treat, as well. It is read by legendary actress Rita Moreno, who brings the words on the page to life. Reviewed by Mary Ann Cooper

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7 Top STEM Scholarships for Latinos M

by Gary M. Stern inority students capture just 13 percent of engineering jobs annually, Tip No. 4, View Science and Engineering in a New Way: Many students according to the National Action Council for Minorities in are intimidated by science, math or engineering. But some of these same Engineering (NACME), despite minorities constituting 34 percent of students can break down a computer, use robotics and understand Wi-Fi. the 18- to 24-year-old population in the U.S. One way to increase the num- If students see science in a problem-solving way, it can boost their confiber of minorities in science, technology, math and engineering (STEM) dence and sense of mastery. fields is by providing more scholarships to deserving Latino students Tip No. 5, Practice and Prepare for the SATs: Striving for the highest focused on the sciences. grade-point average (GPA) and SAT scores serves as one critical way to earn In this article, we profile seven of the top a STEM scholarship. Affluent students take STEM scholarships that target Latinos, Kaplan and Princeton Review SAT prep minorities and other students including: 1) courses, so minority students need to find the Google Scholarship Program; 2) NASA ways to prepare for taking SAT tests as well. Scholarships; 3) the Alliance/Merck Ciencia The College Board has been exploring ways (Science) Hispanic Scholars Program; 4) to provide lower-income students with the the NACME Scholars Program; 5) Advancing same SAT prep courses that affluent students Hispanic Excellence in Technology, pay for in order to level the playing field. Engineering, Math and Science (AHETEMS) Tip No. 6, Focus on Writing and English: scholarships; 6) the Aetna Nursing Even if a Latino student is focused on a Scholarship; and 7) Great Minds in STEM. STEM career, pay careful attention to doing Earning a scholarship takes preparation well in English. Learning to write coherentand forethought. Following are some inside ly and thinking critically form the building tips on how Latino students can earn STEM blocks of earning a STEM scholarship. scholarships. They come to us upon the Tip No. 7, Emphasize Resilience: There recommendation of Frank Alvarez, who was are a spate of students who enter high president and CEO of the Hispanic school, express interest in majoring in STEM Scholarship Fund (HSF) for five years fields in college and meet resistance in a before retiring from the nonprofit organizabeginning chemistry or calculus course. tion in January 2013. Frustrated, they give up and shift directions. Tip No. 1, Prepare for Scholarships Early Try to stay resilient. One tough class shouldin High School: Starting as a freshman in n’t deter a Latino student from pursuing scihigh school, Latino students must develop a ence or math. Learn to bounce back, build success plan to compete for scholarships. your intellectual capacity and move on. Too many students wake up in their senior Tip No. 8, Emulate Previous Winners: year and start thinking about applying for Scholarship winners come in all sizes and Frank Alvarez, former president and CEO of the Hispanic Scholarship Fund scholarships. But by that time, the odds of shapes, but most are first-generation winning one have narrowed. Start taking undergraduates who achieved academicalchallenging classes in math, science and English as a freshman. Take chal- ly in high school, show persistence and learn to solve problems. lenging courses including several AP courses. Meet with an advisor and take Demonstrate leadership and take initiative. classes in the right sequence to build on skills and knowledge. Tip No. 9, Think About Earning Several Scholarships: Alvarez recommendTip No. 2, Differentiate Yourself from the Competition: Latino students ed that students don’t get trapped in narrow, tunnel vision when competing must differentiate themselves in high school to compete for scholarships. for financial aid. Don’t think only about science and engineering financial aid; Becoming president of student government, editor of the school newspa- think about earning scholarships. “Start thinking about scholarships designed per or a band member are all ways to separate oneself from the pack. around certain majors and careers,” recommended Alvarez. Scholarship donors are seeking community-minded students. Tutoring Tip No. 10, It’s Not Just the GPA: The more community involvement you disLatino and other students at an elementary or middle school is a solid way play, the stronger your application. Scholarships are not just awarded based on to differentiate yourself. Said Alvarez: “Mentoring others shows scholarship grades or SAT scores but are usually given to students on a holistic basis. donors that you’re thinking about other people.” Following are seven top STEM scholarships for Latinos: Tip No. 3, Sharpen Your Interviewing Skills: In many Latino families, children are encouraged to be quiet and respectful, which is fine. But some schol- Google Scholarships arships involve being interviewed, and often the students that are most expresGoogle is aware of the changing demographics boosting the Latino popsive, articulate and commanding shine. Find a teacher you trust and ask if he ulation in the U.S. and wants to ensure that it attracts a diversified labor or she can perform mock interviews to sharpen your interviewing skills. force. It collaborates with the Hispanic Scholarship Fund to offer five

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$10,000-a-year scholarships for Latino students interested in STEM fields. Alvarez said criteria for awarding the scholarships include GPA, class standing, essays submitted, and community involvement. Google is seeking serious science-minded students who have made a commitment to taking challenging STEM courses and performed well in these classes. For more info, go to the Hispanic Scholarship Fund website, www.hsf.net.

school seniors embarking on an engineering career, are eligible to the general public, Walter said. NACME offers 20 awards of $2,500 each for first-year tuition. To be considered, students must have a minimum 3.0 GPA in high school, 1,650 combined SAT scores, and pursue an engineering degree.

NASA Scholarships NASA’s Aeronautics Scholarship Program is not targeted solely for Latino students but is open to high school students of all ethnicities. Students are awarded $15,000 a year for two years for educational expenses and are also given an additional $10,000 to finance summer internships at the NASA Research Center. The executive team at NASA wants to attract talented Latino and minority students with a flair for science and engineering. “The federal government does work force projections. They know the demographics of the growing minority population,” Alvarez said. Students need to perform internships with NASA and travel to workshops.

SHPE Foundation’s AHETEMS Scholarships The Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE) offers a $2,500 scholarship to Hispanic seniors in high school who have a minimum of a 3.0 GPA and attend an accredited U.S. or Puerto Rican school. Students must be accepted into a two-year or four-year college in the U.S. To be chosen, students must demonstrate leadership and service in the Hispanic community and be able to attend a pre-college symposium. SHPE Foundation also offers $1,000 to $5,000 awards for high school seniors, undergraduates and graduate students. Students must have a minimum 2.75 GPA, fill out an application form, write a personal statement online, and submit a one-page résumé and faculty recommendations. For more information, visits the website at shpefoundation.org.

Alliance/Merck Ciencia (Science) Hispanic Scholarship Program The Alliance/Merck Ciencia (Science) Hispanic Scholarship Program offers two types of scholarships. It offers 10 Hispanic high school seniors who plan to pursue STEM majors a $42,500 scholarship package. But winners must attend high school in one of three locations: Brownsville, Texas; Elizabeth, N.J.; and Los Angeles, Calif. Winners receive $5,000 a year for four years of undergraduate study, which is supplemented by $7,500 annually for up to three summer internship programs. Criteria to earn a scholarship include these details: students must possess a 2.75 GPA, involved in full-time study, majoring in STEM fields, and must attend a one-week scholars’ program.

Aetna Nursing Scholarship Aetna offers two $2,500 scholarships for one year to nursing majors for any student attending a two-year or four-year Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU) associated college, explained Jorge Burwick, HACU’s assistant director of scholarships and student services. Aetna wants to make sure it attracts a diverse base of nursing students into the field. Student must have a minimum 3.0 GPA and demonstrate financial need. Students must also write an essay. “We’re looking for their community involvement and work experience. The scholarships are not just based on GPA,” Burwick said.

In addition, Merck offers a larger program, awarding 25 scholarships to Hispanic undergraduate STEM majors attending college in any of the 50 states. The award is a one-time $2,000 scholarship. To earn that scholarship, students must be enrolled in a college, be of Hispanic origin, have a 2.75 GPA, and be a STEM major. For more information, visit www.alliancescholars.org. NACME Scholars Program As its name suggests, scholarships offered by the National Action Council for Minorities in Engineering (NACME) promote minorities pursuing careers in engineering. In fact, NACME offers scholarships to students attending 25 participating colleges. But these students must already be accepted and enrolled in the college in order to compete for it, explained Aileen Walter, NACME’s vice president of scholarships. “These scholarships aren’t open to the general public,” Walter emphasized. However, NACME’s Pre-Engineering Scholarships, which target high

Great Minds in STEM Scholarships Great Minds in STEM offers about one hundred scholarships, ranging from $500 each to $10,000 for one year, explained Ray Mellado, Great Minds in STEM CEO. Scholarships are awarded in total for about $250,000, he said. Scholarships are aimed at Hispanic and underrepresented students who are applying for or enrolled in college. About 80 percent of scholarships are awarded to students attending four-year colleges, about 15 percent are given to high school students, and about 5 percent go to students in two-year engineering or science programs. Annually, about 600 to 700 students apply for these 100 scholarships. Awards are based on merit, not financial need. Scholarship winners can apply the following year for another one. But they must compete with all of the applicants and aren’t given any advantages based on winning previously. “Every year is a new race,” Mellado said. Great Minds in STEM is seeking students who exhibit leadership, Mellado said. “Winners do more than just get good grades. They’re out there trying to help their school and their community and are trying to make a difference,” he said. Students must demonstrate a minimum 3.0 GPA, write an essay about what they plan to do with their math or science degree and answer another topical question. Students must also submit a faculty recommendation and one recommendation from a peer. “Good grades are important,” Mellado said. But it takes more than outstanding grades to earn a Great Minds in STEM scholarship. Civic involvement is just as critical as outstanding grades.

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University of South Florida System is a high-impact, global research system dedicated to student success. The USF System includes three institutions: USF Tampa; USF St. Petersburg; and USF Sarasota-Manatee. The institutions are separately accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. All institutions have distinct missions and strategic plans. Serving more than 47,000 students, the USF System has an annual budget of $1.5 billion and an annual economic impact of $3.7 billion. USF is a member of the Big East Athletic Conference. Administrative and Executive Positions: Director of Development (Advancement) Sr. Director of Development-COB (Advancement) Director (Associate Director-Alumni) Advancement Sr. Director of Development (Advancement) Director (Student Affairs) Director of Clinical Affairs (College of Medicine) Faculty Positions: College of Arts and Sciences College of Education Assistant Professor (6) Dean (1) Assistant/Associate Professor (3) Assistant/Associate/Full Professor (2) Associate Professor/Professor (1) College of Business College of Engineering Assistant Professor (2) Open Rank (Full Professor) (2) Associate Dean (1) Assistant Professor (1) Associate Professor/Full (2) Open Rank (Full/Associate/Assistant) (2) Assistant/Associate Professor (2) College of Arts Assistant Professor (2) Director & Professor (1)

St. Petersburg Campus Assistant Professor (5)

College of Public Health Assistant Professor (2) Assistant/Associate Professor (1)

Sarasota Campus Assistant Professor (2)

College of Medicine Assistant/Associate Professor (10) Assistant Professor (11) Assistant/Associate/Full Professor (5)

College of Nursing Nursing Faculty (2) Assistant/Associate Professor (1)

Mental Health Law & Policy Assistant Professor (2) Professor (1)

Coll. of Behavioral and Comm. Sciences Professor (1) Assistant Professor (2) Associate/Full Professor (1)

Behavioral Sciences Assistant Dean (1) For a job description on the above listed positions including department, disciple and deadline dates: (1) visit our Careers@USF Web site at https://employment.usf.edu/applicants/ jsp/shared/Welcome_css.jsp; or (2) contact The Office of Diversity and Equal Opportunity, (813) 974-4373; or (3) call USF job line at 813.974.2879. USF is an equal opportunity/equal access/affirmative action institution, committed to excellence through diversity in education and employment.

New Jersey Center for Science, Technology and Mathematics and Technology Transfer

Dean Kean, a comprehensive New Jersey state University, is committed to excellence and access and to developing, maintaining and strengthening interactive ties with the community. Kean University takes pride in its continuing effort to build a multicultural professional community to serve a richly diversified student population of almost 16,000. The University sits on three adjoining campus sites covering 180 acres, two miles from Newark Liberty International Airport and thirty minutes from New York City, with additional locations in Ocean County, New Jersey and Wenzhou, China. The New Jersey Center for Science, Technology and Mathematics (NJCSTM) offers a five year, combined bachelor/master degree with five options: three for the preparation of secondary science and mathematics teachers (biology, chemistry and mathematics) and two leading to research careers in science and technology (molecular biology/biotechnology and computational applied mathematics). Applied research and technology transfer are significant components of the Center. Responsibilities: Reporting to the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs, the Dean will provide leadership for the New Jersey Center for Science, Technology and Mathematics and Technology Transfer in the areas of teaching, research, university and community service, entrepreneurship and applied sciences. The Dean is also expected to work closely with faculty and other Deans in curricular matters, including the development of strong and innovative academic programs. Qualifications: The successful candidate will possess a terminal degree or combination of experience in an academic or professional field related to the disciplines within the Center; a record of distinguished academic or professional achievement; and a minimum of five years of progressive experience in management or a higher education environment combining academic instruction, scholarly attainment and administration or the equivalent as determined by the university. Experience in related science and technology fields, research organizations or not-for-profit entities is also acceptable. Other qualifications include: demonstrated ability to lead through collaborative and shared decision making; the ability to sustain a strong and collegial relationship with faculty, staff, students and administrators; experience with faculty and student research; a successful record in budget development and strategic planning; the ability to balance advocacy for the Center with the needs of the wider university community; an understanding of the role of information technology in business, science and education; and a demonstrated ability to interact with the broader business, education, science and research and development communities. Position may be filled immediately. Complete applications must include the following: letter of interest, resume and names and contact information for three professional references. Apply directly to: Chair of the New Jersey Center for Science, Technology and Mathematics and Technology Transfer Dean Search Committee, Office of the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs, Kean University, 1000 Morris Avenue, Union, NJ 07083. Review of applications will begin immediately and continue until an appointment is made. Salary is competitive and commensurate with qualifications and experience. Comprehensive benefits program included. Official transcripts for all degrees and three current letters of recommendation are required before appointment. Kean University is an EOE/AA Institution

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Texas Tech University: The Department of Mechanical Engineering at Texas Tech University is seeking candidates in the area of Computational Fluid Dynamics at the Assistant Professor level. The successful candidate will be able to make fundamental contributions to the development of advanced computational methods and become an integral part of interdisciplinary research programs within the department that include experimental, theoretical and computational fluid dynamics components. Examples of current programs of that type include (but are not limited to) numerical simulations of turbulent wall-bounded flows at large scales such as wind-turbine array simulations, active/passive flow control, stratified spatially-developing turbulent thermal boundary layers, film cooling in a suite of DNS, LES or RANS tools for incompressible and compressible flows. It is expected that the candidate develops advanced computational techniques (in-house codes) for structured/ unstructured meshes on massively parallel computers and multiscale methods. Applicants must have a Ph.D. in Mechanical, Aerospace or other closely related discipline, and a track record of publications. Applicants should possess excellent written and oral communication skills, and the ability to work with a diverse body of students and colleagues. Duties will include teaching and developing undergraduate and graduate courses, establishing and maintaining an externally funded research program, and performing service to the department, college, as well as the National Wind Resource Center and the University. Presently, the Department of Mechanical Engineering has 29 faculty members and 1,100 undergraduate and 125 graduate students. Texas Tech University, with an enrollment of 32,000 students, comprises 12 academic colleges/schools and is a part of the statesupported Texas Tech University System. The university shares its campus with the TTU Health Sciences Center. All applicants must apply electronically through https://jobs.texastech.edu/postings/Req #88217 to be considered. Applicants are encouraged to upload a rĂŠsumĂŠ, a cover letter including a brief statement of research and teaching interests, and the names of at least three references to the HR website. Applications will be accepted until the position is filled. As an Equal Employment Opportunity/Affirmative Action employer, Texas Tech University is dedicated to the goal of building a culturally diverse faculty committed to teaching and working in a multicultural environment. We actively encourage applications from all those who can contribute, through their research, teaching, and/or service, to the diversity and excellence of the academic community at Texas Tech University. The university welcomes applications from minorities, women, veterans, persons with disabilities, and dualcareer couples.

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Temple University College of Health Professions and Social Work Department of Kinesiology Faculty Search Assistant Professor, Non-Tenure Track Temple University’s Department of Kinesiology, one of seven departments and one School in the College of Health Professions and Social Work, is recruiting a non-tenure track faculty member to teach in our undergraduate and graduate programs for the 2013-2014 academic year. Temple University is a Carnegie-classified Research University - High with more than 39,000 students and distinguished faculty in 17 schools and colleges. The University has an exceptionally strong commitment to quality teaching, research, and advising. The Department of Kinesiology, with more than 1000 students, has strong graduate and undergraduate degree programs. The undergraduate program in Kinesiology is the third largest in the University and is comprised of programs of study in athletic training, exercise and sports science, PHETE (Teacher Education) and pre-health professions (designed for students seeking graduate studies in physical therapy, physician assistant, medicine, nursing, podiatry, occupational therapy, etc.).

We are looking for an enthusiastic, dedicated professional with a background in exercise physiology to teach human anatomy and physiology courses along with undergraduate and graduate exercise physiology courses. The ideal applicant will have a Ph.D. in exercise physiology and ACSM clinical certification, as well as American Heart Association or American Red Cross CPR and AED certifications. A strong record of teaching at the undergraduate level is highly desirable, in addition to other specialty certifications (i.e., ACSM health-fitness or specialty certification, and/or NSCA-CSCS certification). This appointment is for one academic year, August 26, 2013 to June 30, 2014 with the potential for renewal. Applicants must submit their curriculum vitae, a statement of undergraduate/graduate teaching background, and the names of three individuals who can provide letters of recommendation if requested. Forward all materials to Andrea Beckett, Department of Kinesiology, Pearson Hall (048-00), Temple University, 1800 N. Broad Street, Philadelphia, PA 19122-6085 (ybeckett@temple.edu , 215-204-8707). Application Deadline: For primary consideration, materials must be received by noon on April 29, 2013; however, applications will be considered until the position is filled. Temple University is an affirmative action/equal opportunity employer dedicated to excellence through diversity.

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ADOLESCENT SELF-INJURY

Miquela Rivera, Ph.D., is a licensed psychologist with years of clinical, early childhood and consultative experience. She lives in Albuquerque, N.M.

elf-injury among teens is not simply a matter of drama nor is it a “phase.” It is purposeful self-injury – cutting oneself deeply enough to bleed. While younger teen girls – including Latinas – are more apt to cut themselves, older teens and boys do, too. Cutting might appear a fad or something a teen will do to be accepted, but it must be taken seriously. For those in higher education, adolescents who cut often become young adults who cut – and that affects the person’s ability to cope and succeed in college. The risks for Latinas facing other barriers towards higher education are even higher, but intervention can make the difference for someone who otherwise would drop out of school. Self-injuring Latina teens report they cut themselves to relieve pentup emotional pain – a self-induced emotional bloodletting of sorts. Whether it is peer pressure, familial criticism, romantic worries, loneliness, a deep sense of emptiness or fear of the future, a Latina might cut when she can’t tolerate emotional discomfort. Some teens proclaim they hurt themselves because they are not good enough for anything. Selfinjury, then, becomes punishment for inadequacy. The relief from cutting can provide a fleeting sense of control, but the self-loathing that follows quickly erases that effect. Cutters are usually not attempting suicide, but if it becomes frequent and the cuts are deep enough, the teen can die. Adolescents often report a euphoric rush upon cutting, and it can become an addictive-like compulsion. When you juxtapose the “good feeling” from cutting with problems the Latina still faces when that feeling dissipates, chances for continued cutting increase. Other risky behaviors like binge drinking, drug use, bulimia and anorexia are common for cutters in continuous pain. Cutters often suffer depression, bipolar or obsessive-compulsive disorder, too. For many Latinas, the protective factors of close family ties can help shield them from ongoing self-injury. For other Latinas, though, familial over-involvement worsens the pressure and shame. Adolescents cut within easy reach – arms, legs and their torso – but they also conceal the injuries with clothing. Cutting is often disclosed to closest friends, so it is critical that adults observe closely, listen more

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and say less in order to be available to the Latina in need. View excuses with skepticism. When the Hispanic adolescent explains that the cat scratched her, she cut herself shaving, or her zipper was sharp and caught her skin, think twice and keep listening. If a Latina teen is withdrawn, if her statements are inconsistent, if old friends disappear and new friends seem troubled or if she seems isolated, be vigilant. If she is unusually irritable or acting impulsively in other ways, she might be cutting. And if she asks a “What if” question or conveys a story about a “friend” you’ve never met, perhaps she is indirectly telling you she is contemplating or is already cutting herself. The anger most parents feel – and Latino parents tend to be the most expressive – when they learn their teen is cutting masks their own fear that problems are worse than imagined, and that suicide is next. Volatile anger, making a scene or insensitively spreading the news among family can drive the teen further away, so loved ones should engage someone else – often a mental health professional – to help them. Treatment for cutting includes behavioral approaches to curb the compulsive behavior (visual cues, timed reminders, relaxation and selfmonitoring), but it should always address the underlying issues, too. Sometimes long-term issues include physical abuse or neglect, sexual abuse or life with an alcoholic parent. The goal is to teach the Latina teen to cope effectively with pain or uncertainty. Perhaps cutting is a cry for personal attention, but that should be uncovered in therapy and handled directly. Threats, punishments, public humiliation or attempts at controlling every other aspect of a Hispanic teen’s life typically worsens the problem. Save face to assure that the teen can talk about whatever is truly troublesome. High school counselors, university counselors and student services staff and spiritual leaders – a less-recognized but important resource for teens – typically know how to deal with the problem. If they cannot treat it fully, they can help find someone who will.