“What Good Is Diversity?” “Without It You Die.”

1. “What Good Is Diversity?” “Without It You Die.” Anne C Petersen, PhD University of Minnesota & Global Philanthropy Alliance Presentation at “Broadening Participation in the Social, Behavioral & Economic Sciences”, SBES Alliances National Conference, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, April 27, 2006

2. Many Recent Reports Sounding the Alarm • Quiet Crisis, Report to Congress from BEST, 2002 • National Summit on Competitiveness, Council on Competitiveness, 2004 • Rising Above the Gathering Storm, COSEPUP, National Academies, 2005 • And others

3. Key Points: The Problem • US education failing to prepare us to compete in the global economy • Not preparing enough scientists and engineers; other nations are • US losing top position in many fields of science and innovation • Other countries have made science/innovation a national priority for investment

4. Key Points: The Solutions • Education: Must enable all US students to achieve to their full potential • Women increased participation dramatically over past 20 years • Underrepresented minorities on similar trajectory but about 10 years behind • Still a “leaky pipeline” • Science and innovation • More research funding to universities • More partnerships with industry

5. Minority = Black/African American, Hispanic, and American Indian • Source: Joan Burrelli, NSF, based on 1999 Common Core of Data, U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics (NCES); NCES, 1998 IPEDS Fall Enrollment Survey; UCLAHigher Education Research Institute,1998 American Freshman Survey (estimate); and NCES, 1998 IPEDS Completions Survey Leaky Pipeline

6. Current Practices Not Helping

7. Critical Components for Creating a Globally Competitive Workforce • Value differences • We need diversity of ideas. • Start early to reach all of our youth • The workforce needs everyone educated. • Use community-based approaches • Schools cannot do it alone.

8. DIVERSITY MEANS • Increasing “the diversity of imagination, methods, and experience available to the scientific workforce so it can find new and more powerful ways to address critical environmental, health, and energy problems.” Native Science, Tapestry Institute, 2004

9. What about SBE Fields? • Recent progress in SBES is way too slow! • Still ahead of others but slower increase • SBE disciplines will be critical for the emerging fields in the service industry • Only 20% of current workers needed in “old” industries • SBE can create new fields with rigor and utility by using knowledge

10. SBE in Global Development • Economics has dominated development science and work • Ideas and language (eg “capitals”) • Macro-economics approaches have failed and micro-approaches have emerged • Micro-finance highly successful • Requires understanding of relationships and community • Broad recognition now that bottom-up approaches are likely to be more successful • Permit appropriate cultural variations • Add to diversity of approaches • Analogue to human developmental approaches

11. Back to Diversity • Globalization will require increased recognition of diversity in the world • Must start with recognizing our own • What you’re doing is critical • Aim high/expect success in your goals • Learn from what you’ve done and share learning about successes and failures with others • Will bring us to a better place by 2010!

12. Thank you!