Bernard A. Harris, Jr., M.D. (left) is an accomplished NASA astronaut, physician, and businessman. He currently serves as president of The Harris Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization he founded in 1998 to develop math/science education and crime prevention programs for America's youth. In 1990, he was selected as a NASA astronaut and flew his first mission three years later. Harris achieved a childhood dream and became the "First African American to Walk in Space."

Science and math are among the most powerful tools we possess for understanding and improving our world. Yet, according to a Congressional task force study, the United States will have a shortage of more than 500,000 scientists and engineers by the year 2010. The National Science Board estimates that the United States will need an additional 1.9 million science workers in the next 10 years. Without those workers, the economy may continue to suffer, and Americans may face a lower standard of living. At this critical juncture in our nation's history, a commitment must be made to educating our youth in the science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) disciplines in the early grades.

This effort is even more crucial for historically underrepresented students. African Americans make up 6.2 percent of scientists and engineers, well below the 10.7 percent they represent in the workforce, according to the Commission on Professions in Science and Technology. Of the 3.4 million scientists and engineers who were employed in the traditional science and engineering occupations, only about 10,000 (0.3%) were Native Americans. The National Center for Educational Statistics found that Latinos account for only 3 percent of U.S. scientists and engineers, even though they represent 14 percent of the population.

To help meet these challenges, DEMA submitted a recently funded proposal to host an ExxonMobil Bernard Harris Summer Science Camp in July 2009. "Understanding Sustainability from the Ground Up: The World of Water" will introduce students to the concept of sustainability by focusing their attention on water, the natural resource they are most likely to take for granted. Click here to read the news release about the Summer Science Camp. For more information on the ExxonMobil Bernard Harris Summer Science Camp, contact Paul Edwards, IU Camp Program Director: pdedward@indiana.edu.

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Vice President for Diversity, Equity, and Multicultural Affairs
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