June 9, 2021
The National Science Foundation (NSF) Directorate for Education and Human Resources (EHR) Advisory Committee met in May for its 2021 Spring Meeting. The Advisory Committee welcomed a new class of members, including Dr. Ada Monzon, Dr. Becky Wai-Ling Packard, Dr. Nicole Smith, Dr. Thomas Brock, and Dr. Melissa Collins. Assistant Director Karen Marrongelle updated the Advisory Committee (AC) on EHR programs, focusing on efforts to broaden participation in the sciences. AC members had the opportunity to provide feedback and share thoughts on the direction of EHR.
The Committee discussed how to improve diversity of grant review panels and talked through issues around incorporating new review criteria, such as how to define “intersectionality” in the context of a grant proposal. They recommended EHR take efforts to increase support for postdoctoral researchers to better support the development of a diverse STEM workforce, referencing the Postdoctoral Research Training Program at the Institute for Education Sciences as a model of how EHR may be successful.
Notably, Assistant Director Marrongelle announced the results of two commissions tasked with revisiting the names of EHR and the Division of Human Resources Development (HRD). In order to more accurately capture the mission of EHR, the Directorate will be renamed the Directorate for STEM Education. HRD will also be renamed the Division of Equity for Excellence in STEM. Advisory Committee members were especially excited that this name reflects how integral equity is to scientific excellence.
The Education and Human Resources Directorate is also seeing significant staffing changes. Assistant Director Marrongelle will be moving to the Office of the Director to work as NSF’s Chief Operating Officer. Deputy Assistant Director Sylvia James will step into the role of Assistant Director. Evan Heit, Director of the Division of Research on Learning in Formal and Informal Settings, will be the new Deputy Assistant Director of EHR.
