AAAS Capacity Center: Three-Year Report

Presented by

Daryl E. ChubinDirector

Center for Advancing Science & Engineering Capacity

AAAS Board of DirectorsAmerican Association for the Advancement of Science

Washington, DC

December 14, 2007

AAAS Board Meeting – December 14, 2007

Timeline—

Events Affecting Context for AAAS Efforts in

S&E Participation (2004 View)

2003: June Supreme Court rulings on Michigan

2004: Jan AAAS-NACME Conference on Impact of rulings on higher education

Aug AAAS Capacity Center established

Oct Standing Our Ground issued

AAAS Board Meeting – December 14, 2007

Assets (2004 View)

• AAAS EHR infrastructure spans preK-workforce spectrum

• Roster of consultants includes specialists in data analysis, program design, outreach, and evaluation

• Resources applied in Standing Our Ground indicative of legal, economic, policy, and cultural nexus embodied by the AAAS Capacity Center

AAAS Board Meeting – December 14, 2007

Presentations to AAAS Board

October 2004

AAAS Capacity Center: Overview for AAAS Board

February 2006

Graduate Education in STEM: When People Count—

Institutional and Student Perspectives (with Y. George)

December 2006

Analysis of Harvard PRISE (Summer 2006 Pilot Program)

AAAS Board Meeting – December 14, 2007

AAAS Capacity Center at a Glance

• Origin: Established as a science & engineering human resource development consulting service August 2004 with 3-year, $400K grant from Alfred P. Sloan Foundation to AAAS (www.aaascapacity.org)

• Mission: Through nationally-calibrated research & technical assistance in examining programs & outcomes, foster institutional capacity to . . .

recruit, enroll, & support STEM students diversify the faculty change programs, structures, & attitudes

• Clients/Sponsors: Institutions of higher education, corporations, federal agencies, & non-profits (e.g., Stanford, Harvard-PRISE, HP-Teaching with Technology, LSU-LA STEM, NSF-BPC, Washington-CAEE, NACME, CONNvene, Intel, WEPAN)

. . . focus on research, education, and institutional climate

AAAS Board Meeting – December 14, 2007

Capacity Center Advisory Committee

• Dr. Susan Hackwood Executive Director, California Council on Science and Technology

• Ms. Jamie Lewis KeithVice President and General Counsel, University of Florida

• Dr. Luther S. WilliamsProvost and Vice President of Academic Affairs, Tuskegee University

• Dr. Ted Greenwood, ex officioProgram Director, Alfred P. Sloan Foundation

Note: Cora Marrett, Richard Tapia, and Warren Washington rotated off the

Committee in 2007 and have not been replaced.

AAAS Board Meeting – December 14, 2007

Timetable (2004 View)

• AAAS Capacity Center launched August 2004

• Three-year plan:  Year 1 Demonstrate proof of concept

Year 2 Expand client base

Year 3 Take stock & (with new sponsors) transition to

sustained $2M/year operation

AAAS Board Meeting – December 14, 2007

Approach (2004 View)

• Institution as the ultimate unit of change

• Use disaggregated data to diagnose needs and inform technical assistance

• Tailor strategies to local strengths & institutionalize capacity to serve “focus” population

• Where confidentiality is not a client concern, share “research on practice” through mini-conferences and reports

AAAS Board Meeting – December 14, 2007

AAAS Capacity CenterThree-Year Report Card, 2005-07

ClientsConsultants

UsedReports Publications

Year 1 -- --Standing

Our Ground--

Year 2 8 9 7 6

Year 3 5 7 4 2

AAAS Board Meeting – December 14, 2007

• S&E exhibit a narrow view of “merit”—bias toward performance over promise leads to risk-aversion

• Any collaboration or program that defies formal organization lines or relationships takes time to institutionalize

• Collaborations typically begin with soft money programs—and few survive to become lines in the institutional operating budget

• Legal climate forces either no action or institutionalization (“structural transformation”)

• Innovators are not prophets in their own land—credibility comes from national/international recognition

• Data depersonalizes the conversation—institution-wide measures subject all units to the same criteria

• Campus leaders (President, Provost) can bless best practices of individual units and elevate them with institutional imprimatur

Client-based Conclusions: 3 Years of Learning

AAAS Board Meeting – December 14, 2007

Current Client & Sponsor List (excludes subcontracts)

Client/Sponsor Duration Begun Notes

Intel Corp. (continuing) 1 year Nov 05Undergrad Engineering: Planning continues with program officer, but sponsor delay

NSF-CISE/BPC

(original & supplement)

3 years

3 yearsMar 06 Sept 07

Computing Careers: Technical assistance on baseline data at PI meeting, addition of comparison groups to Alliance evaluation designs, & site vistis; 9 Alliance projects with 2 more awarded FY08

LSU-LA STEM

(continuing & extension)

3 years

2 yearsNov 05

Undergrad STEM: 2-year extension, including bridge program site visit & annual evaluation report

Harvard College PRISE

(original & new)

9 months

9 months

May 06

Apr 07

Undergrad STEM: Comparison group (2007) & follow-up survey of 2006 cohort, site visit, & design of longitudinal study

NACME

(continuing with supplement)1.5 years July 06

Undergrad Engineering: Completion of formative evaluation; management of research & policy agenda/ reports

AAAS Board Meeting – December 14, 2007

Capacity Center: Going Forward

• Continuing Client Work

• Collection of presentations & writings

• SOG II Roundtable (w/NACME, Sloan, & AAAS support) on Efficacy of University-based Science & Engineering Despite Limitations of “Strict Scrutiny” —January 2008

• Connections to K-12 (a la GE report, A System of Solutions—February 2005)