May 1, 2016

This month we've focused on efforts to increase diversity in higher education, particularly in the STEM fields: that’s Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math.

There is an absolute benefit to diversity and broadening participation. As Charles Darwin observed more than 150 years ago in terms of evolution, diversity makes us all stronger. I believe the same principle applies in research and learning. Ethnic, cultural, and gender diversity leads to diversity of perspective and diversity of thought. More and more research has shown how diversity leads to new solutions, better products, and corporate success.

But diversity in higher education has long lagged behind the demographics of our country. In the US, African Americans are more than 12% of the population, but receive only 6% of bachelors degrees awarded in Science and Engineering and only 4% of doctoral degrees. African Americans represent more than 40% of the population of Philadelphia, but only 5.5% of the freshman class of Drexel and a tiny fraction of the faculty. There are many causes for this disparity, but the simple fact is that the demography of students and faculty at most Universities does not reflect the population of our country. We must address this because disproportionate representation limits our understanding of where the world is going.

The change needed will involve every stage of learning. Right now the chances of a child born today in our adjacent neighborhoods of Powelton Village and Mantua attending Drexel are nearly zero, but we are working to change that. Drexel's University Community Partnerships team is working with these neighborhoods to enhance early childhood education. We have worked with the community and the school district of Philadelphia to develop the new Science Leadership Academy Middle School, which like SLA High School will emphasize integrated inquiry-based learning, but will be a neighborhood school rather than a magnet. The first incoming class of 5th grade students will start this Fall, initially at Drexel's Dornsife Center for Community Partnerships before moving to a new building in University City in the future. There’s also our STEAM outreach programs, such as Summer Music Technology, which specifically target students in the School District of Philadelphia.

But we must go further in higher education… beyond standardized academic metrics, which are known to be biased in terms of race, culture, and socio-economic status. We must look beyond traditional cognitive measures, such as IQ, which are also biased. These are some of the reasons why we embrace STEAM as our framework, not because the pathways through arts and design are any easier, but because they are more representative of the diversity of human experience. We believe it's a good place to start, but we know we have a long way to go.

Youngmoo Kim, Director