NAPE Education Foundation Receives National Science Foundation Grant to Increase STEM Access for Underrepresented Groups

COCHRANVILLE, Pa.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The National Alliance for Partnerships in Equity’s (NAPE) Education Foundation has received a $2.5 million grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to continue and grow its STEM Equity Pipeline™ initiative.

“Increasing the diversity of the STEM workforce is good for business and individuals. Business benefits from increased innovation and competitiveness while individuals can become economically self-sufficient by participating in a high-skill, high-wage career in STEM.”

NAPE launched STEM Equity Pipeline™ in 2007 with funding from the National Science Foundation’s Gender in Science and Engineering program. Through this new NSF grant, NAPE’s STEM Equity Pipeline, currently working in 12 states, will be able to expand to 10 additional states.

The project works with both state- and local-level educators to develop policies and programs to ensure equity is integral to science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education initiatives being developed in the state. The project will also provide intensive professional development to state and local administrators, counselors, and faculty to implement research-based practices designed to increase access, success, and postsecondary transition of girls and other underrepresented groups in STEM.

Pat Elizondo, Senior Vice President, Xerox Corporation, Chair of the NAPE Business and Industry Advisory Council, and member of the NAPE Education Foundation Board of Directors, says, “This is a very important award that solidifies our ability at NAPE to execute on our aggressive plan for 2013 and beyond. NAPE is making measureable progress in changing the face of the STEM workforce.”

Noting that women in STEM occupations earn 33 percent more than those in non-STEM occupations and that the wage gap between men and women in STEM jobs is significantly smaller than in other fields, Mimi Lufkin, Chief Executive Officer of NAPE, asserts, “Increasing the diversity of the STEM workforce is good for business and individuals. Business benefits from increased innovation and competitiveness while individuals can become economically self-sufficient by participating in a high-skill, high-wage career in STEM.”

For more information about NAPE and the STEM Equity Pipeline™, visit www.napequity.org.

About NAPE

The National Alliance for Partnerships in Equity (NAPE) is a national, nonprofit consortium of state and local agencies, corporations, and national organizations that collaborate to create equitable and diverse classrooms and workplaces where there are no barriers to opportunities. Through its Education Foundation, NAPE has been involved in a number of initiatives to increase diversity in America’s workforce and to increase opportunities in high-skill, high-wage, high-demand careers. Among these is the National Science Foundation-funded STEM Equity Pipeline Project, which works with educational systems to increase the participation of underrepresented populations in STEM education. For more information, visit www.napequity.org and www.stemequitypipeline.org.