Space Sciences Directorate Report to the Diversity Council

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Space Sciences Directorate Report to the
Diversity Council

• December 18, 2001

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Topics

• Diversity Characteristics in the Space Sciences
  Directorate (SSD)
• Increasing Organizational Strength through
  Diversity (Current Workforce)
• Increasing Diversity (Future Workforce)

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SSD Diversity Characteristics

• Diverse in many ways, but not in ethnicity

Data as of 4/27/01
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SSD Civil Service Workforce
Data as of 4/27/01
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SSD Civil Service Workforce
Data as of 4/27/01
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Workforce Age Distribution
170
Data as of 1/31/01
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Increasing Strength Through Diversity (Current
Workforce)

• SSD Diversity Management Policy signed by
  Directorate and Laboratory managers - Feb. 2001
• Supervisors formed into SSD-wide Diversity
  Council
• 2 quarterly meetings (under Jim Barrowman)
• Intended to keep diversity info flowing, maintain
  diversity consciousness, generate new ideas on
  how to meet challenges
• Promoting Diversity message through recruitment
  of participants for Center Diversity Dialogs
• American Physics Society asked to do audit on
  workplace environment from womens perspective
• APS Committee on the Status of Women in Physics
• Jean Swank served on similar audit committee for
  UCAR

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Increasing Diversity (Future Workforce)

• SSDs ethnic diversity reflects the science
  community in general
• The science community is not ethnically diverse
• There is great competition for good minority
  scientists
• Our challenge is to help increase the ethnic
  diversity of the science community so we have a
  broader ethnicity from which to draw

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Increasing Diversity (Future Workforce)

• Packaging co-op program with UMBC to attract
  under-represented students into science
• Modeled after successful Scholars program
  developed by UMBC for NSA
• Focused on undergraduates to capture candidates
  early
• Jonathan Ormes planning visit to two universities
  in Louisiana
• Higher than average population of
  African-Americans in physics
• J. Ormes to present seminar at Morgan State

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Increasing Diversity (Future Workforce)

• Attended the National Conference Black Physics
  Students
• Beth Brown, Tali Figueroa, and Ron Polidan
• Presentation by Tali encouraging doctoral studies
  and NASA and Goddard science careers
• Beth on panel sharing work experiences
• Identified candidates for our graduate minority
  co-op program

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NCBPS Recruitment SummaryB. Brown R. Polidan
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Increasing Diversity (Future Workforce)

• On-going collaborations with HBCUs and OMUs
• List published on Diversity Web Site
• Example of FY01 activity on next page
• Establishing MOU with HQ/EU, MU-SPIN,
• and MUPO
• Partnership to stimulate increased participation
  of minority universities in space science

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NASA OSS Education Support Network Scientists
Met with 9 Minority Professional
SocietiesWestern Kentucky University, May 9-10,
2001
I. Hawkins of UC Berkeley meeting with D. Willis
and P. Hall of the National Association for Black
Geologists and Geophysicists (NABGG)

• Plans were made with Black, Hispanic,
• and Native American Scientists,
• Engineers, and Mathematicians for
• cooperative programs in
• Science research
• Post doc, summer fellowship and student
  internships
• Evaluating proposals
• Using information technologies to enhance OSS
  education and outreach projects
• Reviewing education products for science accuracy
  and diverse appeal
• Promoting NASA science and math materials in
  workshops and school visits
• Follow-up telecons and meetings will be used to
  carry out the plans

J. Thieman of Code 633, conversing with M. E.
Zavala of the Society for the Advancement of
Chicanos Native Americans in Science (SACNAS)