The governmental agency is awarding’ minority-serving organizations’ to ‘ increase variety’ in STEM fields
NASA is giving$ 7.2 million to six institutions to develop diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts in science, engineering, engineering, and mathematics areas.
According to a media release from NASA, the money comes from the federal government company’s Minority University Research and Education Project, which aims to “provide help to improve diversity in engineering.”  ,
The offer will go to “minority-serving establishments”, 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 organization claimed that the offer will improve “NASA’s perception for a diverse and inclusive workplace.”
With these awards, MUREP Manager Keya Briscoe stated that” we are continuing to build processes that improve access and opportunities in STEM for underserved and underserved parties.”
NASA’s Senior Advisor for Engagement and Equity, Shahra Lambert, stated, “NASA is excited to prize money to six minority-serving organizations, paving the way for greater diversification in architecture and STEM.”
According to a media release from the university, UH can receive$ 1.2 million to finance the school’s Partnership for Inclusivity in Engineering Education and Research for Space programme for three years.
The project’s objective is to increase student recruitment and retention in STEM fields related to aerospace, promote their sense of belonging, and promote their involvement through hands-on studies and hands-on experiential learning options.
” 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.
Another NASA-funded projects include” Empowering Represented STEM Talent Through Strategic Partnerships and Modern Learning” at AAMU and” Modern Strategies for Underrepresented Minorities in STEM Education” at CU Denver.
This is not the first day NASA has given big grants to help universities increase DEI initiatives. In 2021, the government agency gave$ 18 million to” Minority-Serving Institutions”, according to a NASA news release.
” We’re reaching out to historically underserved and underserved areas and creating as many avenues as we can to take them onboard”, Mike Kincaid, NASA’s associate administrator of STEM Engagement, said at the moment.
A group of STEM researchers claimed in a report last month that the federal government is “politicizing technology money,” which “undermines people believe,” as previously reported by The College Fix.
The team argued taxpayer-funded study grants are “increasingly” mandating that researchers explain how their research may improve DEI.
The group wrote that” These mandates undermine the intellectual freedom of scientists and the objective generation of information required for a well-functioning democracy.”
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