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The federal agency is awarding ‘minority-serving institutions’ to ‘increase diversity’ in STEM fields

NASA is giving $7.2 million to six universities to expand diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives in science, technology, engineering, and math fields.

The funding is from the federal government agency’s Minority University Research and Education Project, which aims to provide “support to increase diversity in engineering,” according to a news release from NASA. 

The grant will go to “minority-serving institutions,” including Alabama A&M University, Morgan State University in Baltimore, North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, University of Central Florida, University of Colorado, Denver, and University of Houston.

The agency stated the grant will advance “NASA’s vision for a diverse and inclusive workforce.”

“With these awards, we are continuing to create pathways that increase access and opportunities in STEM for underrepresented and underserved groups,” MUREP Manager Keya Briscoe stated.

“NASA is excited to award funding to six minority-serving institutions, paving the way for greater diversity in engineering and STEM,” NASA Senior Advisor for Engagement and Equity Shahra Lambert stated.

UH will receive $1.2 million to fund three years of its Partnership for Inclusivity in Engineering Education and Research for Space program, according to a news release from the school.

The goal of the project “is to improve the recruitment and retention of students in aerospace-related STEM disciplines, increase their sense of belonging and broaden their participation through hands-on research and experiential learning opportunities.”

“Our research, as well as the research of leading scholars, has highlighted the challenges underrepresented students face, including isolation, marginalization, racial bias and hostile educational environments,” Jerrod Henderson, “the project’s principal investigator,” said.

Other project titles funded by NASA include “Empowering Underrepresented STEM Talent through Strategic Partnerships and Innovative Learning” at AAMU and “Innovative Strategies for Underrepresented Minorities in STEM Education” at CU Denver.

This is not the first time NASA has awarded a large grant to expand DEI initiatives at universities. In 2021, the government agency gave $18 million to “Minority-Serving Institutions,” according to a NASA news release.

“We’re reaching out to historically underrepresented and underserved communities and creating as many avenues as we can to bring them onboard,” Mike Kincaid, NASA’s associate administrator of STEM Engagement, said at the time.

Last month, a group of STEM scholars stated in a paper that the federal government is “politicizing science funding” which “undermines public trust,” as previously reported by The College Fix.

The group argued taxpayer-funded research grants are “increasingly” mandating that scientists explain how their studies will advance DEI.

“These mandates undermine the academic freedom of researchers and the unbiased generation of knowledge needed for a well-functioning democracy,” the group wrote.

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