Evolving Schools, Evolving Workplaces in the Bluegrass: Building a Career Pipeline Tuesday, August 5, 2014 Jaleh Rezaie, Ph.D. Director, STEM-H Institute EASTERN KENTUCKY UNIVERSITY

STEM Crises in America!

EMPLOYMENT AND ENROLLMENT: Percentage distribution of 2007–08 bachelor’s degree recipients (2012) Enrollment characteristics Employed only Both Employed and enrolled Enrolled only Un- employed Out of the labor force Bachelor’s degree major STEM major Engineering and engineering technology Computer and information sciences ‡ Biological and physical sciences, science technology, mathematics, and agricultural sciences Non-STEM major Health care fields Education Business Other applied Humanities General studies and other Social sciences

Hours worked and annualized salary for 2007–08 bachelor’s degree recipients who were not enrolled and were working part and full time in their current primary job (2012) Part time SalaryFull time Salary Enrollment characteristics Percent full time AverageMedianAverageMedian Bachelor’s degree major STEM major92.430,70023,40065,00060,000 Engineering and engineering technology ,10034,90073,70067,600 Computer and information sciences95.840,000‡72,60066,000 Biological and physical sciences, science technology, mathematics, and agricultural sciences ,50017,10050,40046,800 Non-STEM major84.125,50020,00049,50044,000 Health care fields76.338,30032,80058,90054,800 Business90.726,70020,80055,50050,000 General studies and other83.1‡25,00053,70044,000 Social sciences84.222,50015,60046,70040,000 Other applied84.320,90016,40044,80041,500 Humanities73.321,10016,60043,10038,400 Education84.823,00021,60040,50037,000

Percentage distribution of 2007–08 bachelor’s degree recipients (2012) Enrollment characteristics Total % Bachelor’s degree major STEM major 16.2 Biological and physical sciences, science technology, mathematics, and agricultural sciences 7.3 Engineering and engineering technology 6.0 Computer and information sciences 2.9 Non-STEM major 83.8 Business 23.3 Social sciences 15.2 Other applied 14.9 Humanities 11.7 Education 8.2 Health care fields 7.6 General studies and other 3.0

2001: 4 million 9 th graders 2005: 2.8 million Graduated 1.9 million entered college 1.3 million were actually ready < 300,000 majored in STEM fields 2011: <167,000 STEM Graduates Source: National Center for Education Statistics; Digest of Education Statistics

So, What do Higher Education Institutions Do?

Recruitment and Retention of students in STEM fields Faculty development

What we need to do? K-12 Summer Camps and similar programs for Elementary and Middle School students Hosting STEM related activities (i.e. Science and Engineering fairs) STEM Academies (Offering STEM College courses to High School students) Workshops and cont. ed. For K-12 teachers Workshops/conferences for Parents, Industry and Community Leaders

What we need to do? Technical and Community colleges Curriculum Alignment Undergraduate Research Collaborations 2+2 program in all STEM fields

What we need to do? Curriculum Special orientation courses More interdisciplinary courses and collaboration among STEM faculty Add Coop or Internship course as part of program requirements Offer 3+2 programs to increase enrollment in Masters programs Offer Professional Science Master (PSM) degrees Review and strengthen the curriculum for all Teacher Education areas

What we need to do? Faculty Faculty Development – Becoming aware of the issues: “Win in” attitude vs. “weed out” attitude Undergraduate Research Grants Earmarked for STEM

What we need to do? Students Provide high quality advising Provide high quality tutoring Involve them in research as soon as Freshman and Sophomore years Provide funds for traveling to conferences to present research work Support creation and maintenance of student organizations in all STEM fields