In a guest post, Lorelle L. Espinosa of the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation and Tashera Gale of Higher Ed Insight reported that “a dismally small number of funders” are prioritizing diversity, equity and inclusion in STEM education. The Sloan Foundation commissioned a report by HEI that found the way grants are distributed for STEM higher education upholds educational disparities — with much of the funding going to a few institutions, and elite, highly resourced institutions benefiting most. At the same time, addressing the lack of diversity in STEM is a priority for nonprofits and educators, as inequities in access to a quality STEM education are holding back not only individual students, but the entire field.
So which philanthropic funders are addressing that priority? Below are a few of the grantmakers who are making attempts to advance diversity, equity and inclusion in STEM higher education.
The Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, which funds a broad array of research and education initiatives in science, has a dedicated program to advance this work. The program supports university-based centers that provide scholarships and mentoring to Black, Latino and Indigenous graduate students in STEM. It also backs regional centers and fellowships to recruit, train and support American Indian and Alaska Native STEM students, as well as the creation or strengthening of institutional pathways from minority-serving institutions to graduate STEM programs.
The Howard Hughes Medical Institute, a major funder of biomedical research and one of the nation’s leading private funders of STEM education, launched a 10-year, $2 billion commitment in 2021 to increase racial, ethnic and gender diversity in science. HHMI’s vice president for science education, Sean Carroll, told IP that the foundation “realized early on that the scientific community does not look like America.” The funding will focus on supporting a diverse scientific workforce through recruitment and professional development efforts, as well as working with scientists and grantees on the creation of inclusive cultures and equitable practices in educational and workplace settings. A key element of the initiative is the Freeman Hrabowski Scholars Program, which will provide substantial and sustained funding for early career biomedical researchers who are committed to advancing DEI in science.
The W. K. Kellogg Foundation, whose funding priorities include children, working families and equitable communities, gave $1.5 million in 2021 to Prairie View A&M, a historically Black university in Texas, to recruit and train Black male STEM teachers. The foundation also gave $1.25 million to the Center for the Innovative Training of Youth in New Orleans for the launch of a STEM hub for local students.
Bloomberg Philanthropies’ Greenwood Initiative, which aims to reduce the racial wealth gap, pledged $100 million in 2020 to the nation’s four historically Black medical schools to increase the number of Black doctors in the United States. Last year, Bloomberg announced a $150 million initiative to provide academic and financial support for diverse Ph.D. students in STEM programs at Johns Hopkins University, where Mike Bloomberg earned an undergraduate degree in electrical engineering.
Diana T. Vagelos and her husband, P. Roy Vagelos (chairman of the board at Regeneron Pharmaceuticals and former CEO and chairman at Merck & Co.), recently gave Barnard its single biggest single gift to date — $55 million to support women in STEM through the renovation and expansion of Barnard’s science building. Wealthy alums are an important source of funding in higher education across disciplines, and STEM is no exception.
The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, which gives broadly to science programs with a focus on health and eradicating diseases, has also supported diversifying the STEM field. In 2019, CZI gave $6.9 million to support students from underrepresented groups pursuing STEM careers at the University of California San Diego and the University of California, Berkeley.
For a deeper look at who’s funding STEM education, including with an eye toward equity, check out our State of American Philanthropy report on the topic.
