title: Improving Underrepresented Minority Student Persistence in STEM.
abstract: Members of the Joint Working Group on Improving Underrepresented Minorities (URMs) Persistence in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM)-convened by the National Institute of General Medical Sciences and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute-review current data and propose deliberation about why the academic "pathways" leak more for URM than white or Asian STEM students. They suggest expanding to include a stronger focus on the institutional barriers that need to be removed and the types of interventions that "lift" students' interests, commitment, and ability to persist in STEM fields. Using Kurt Lewin's planned approach to change, the committee describes five recommendations to increase URM persistence in STEM at the undergraduate level. These recommendations capitalize on known successes, recognize the need for accountability, and are framed to facilitate greater progress in the future. The impact of these recommendations rests upon enacting the first recommendation: to track successes and failures at the institutional level and collect data that help explain the existing trends.
authors.affiliation: Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94118 mica.estrada@ucsf.edu.
authors.forename: Mica
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Estrada
authors.affiliation: Office of the Provost, Spelman College, Atlanta, GA 30314-4399.
authors.forename: Myra
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Burnett
authors.affiliation: Molecular Microbiology & Immunology, Brown University, Providence, RI 02912.
authors.forename: Andrew G
authors.initials: AG
authors.lastname: Campbell
authors.affiliation: Campbell-Kibler Associates, Inc., Groton, MA 01450.
authors.forename: Patricia B
authors.initials: PB
authors.lastname: Campbell
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, San Francisco State University, San Francisco, CA 94132.
authors.forename: Wilfred F
authors.initials: WF
authors.lastname: Denetclaw
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, California State University, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90032-8202.
authors.forename: Carlos G
authors.initials: CG
authors.lastname: Gutiérrez
authors.affiliation: Education Department, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1521.
authors.forename: Sylvia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Hurtado
authors.affiliation: Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK 74078.
authors.forename: Gilbert H
authors.initials: GH
authors.lastname: John
authors.affiliation: Biology Scholars Program, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720-3140.
authors.forename: John
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Matsui
authors.affiliation: Faculty Affairs, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL 60611.
authors.forename: Richard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: McGee
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, Norfolk State University, Norfolk, VA 23504.
authors.forename: Camellia Moses
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Okpodu
authors.affiliation: Division of International Affairs, Morgan State University, Baltimore, MD 21251.
authors.forename: T Joan
authors.initials: TJ
authors.lastname: Robinson
authors.affiliation: Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Chevy Chase, MD 20815 Chemistry and Biochemistry Department, University of Maryland, Baltimore County, Baltimore, MD 21250.
authors.forename: Michael F
authors.initials: MF
authors.lastname: Summers
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87131-0001.
authors.forename: Maggie
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Werner-Washburne
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, California State University, Northridge, Northridge, CA 91330-8303.
authors.forename: MariaElena
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Zavala
mesh_terms: D003479:Curriculum; D004738:Engineering / Q000193:education*; D006801:Humans; D008433:Mathematics / Q000193:education*; D008913:Minority Groups / Q000193:education*; D017145:Models, Educational; D018794:Problem-Based Learning; D012586:Science / Q000193:education*; D013334:Students / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D013672:Technology / Q000193:education*