SEC. 9. RESEARCH AND RELATED ACTIVITIES TO EXPAND 
STEM OPPORTUNITIES. 
(a) NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION SUPPORT FOR 
INCREASING DIVERSITY AMONG STEM FACULTY AT IN-
STITUTIONS OF HIGHER EDUCATION.—Section 305 of the 
American Innovation and Competitiveness Act (42 U.S.C. 
1862s–5) is amended— 
(1) by redesignating subsections (e) and (f) as 
subsections (g) and (h), respectively; and 
(2) by inserting after subsection (d) the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(e) SUPPORT FOR INCREASING DIVERSITY AMONG 
STEM FACULTY AT INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER EDU-
CATION.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Director of the Foun-
dation shall award grants to institutions of higher 
education (or consortia thereof) for the development 
and assessment of innovative reform efforts designed 
to increase the recruitment, retention, and advance-
ment of individuals from underrepresented minority 
groups in academic STEM careers. 
‘‘(2) MERIT
REVIEW; COMPETITION.—Grants 
shall be awarded under this subsection on a merit- 
reviewed, competitive basis. 
‘‘(3) USE OF FUNDS.—Activities supported by 
grants under this subsection may include— 
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‘‘(A) institutional assessment activities, 
such as data analyses and policy review, in 
order to identify and address specific issues in 
the recruitment, retention, and advancement of 
faculty members from underrepresented minor-
ity groups; 
‘‘(B) implementation of institution-wide 
improvements in workload distribution, such 
that faculty members from underrepresented 
minority groups are not disadvantaged in the 
amount of time available to focus on research, 
publishing papers, and engaging in other activi-
ties required to achieve tenure status and run 
a productive research program; 
‘‘(C) development and implementation of 
training courses for administrators and search 
committee members to ensure that candidates 
from underrepresented minority groups are not 
subject to implicit biases in the search and hir-
ing process; 
‘‘(D) development and hosting of intra- or 
inter-institutional workshops to propagate best 
practices in recruiting, retaining, and advancing 
faculty members from underrepresented minor-
ity groups; 
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‘‘(E) professional development opportuni-
ties for faculty members from underrepresented 
minority groups; 
‘‘(F) activities aimed at making under-
graduate STEM students from underrep-
resented minority groups aware of opportunities 
for academic careers in STEM fields; 
‘‘(G) activities to identify and engage ex-
ceptional graduate students from underrep-
resented minority groups at various stages of 
their studies and to encourage them to enter 
academic careers; and 
‘‘(H) other activities consistent with para-
graph (1), as determined by the Director of the 
Foundation. 
‘‘(4) SELECTION PROCESS.— 
‘‘(A) APPLICATION.—An institution of 
higher education (or a consortium of such insti-
tutions) seeking funding under this subsection 
shall submit an application to the Director of 
the Foundation at such time, in such manner, 
and containing such information and assur-
ances as such Director may require. The appli-
cation shall include, at a minimum, a descrip-
tion of— 
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‘‘(i) the reform effort that is being 
proposed for implementation by the insti-
tution of higher education; 
‘‘(ii) any available evidence of specific 
difficulties in the recruitment, retention, 
and advancement of faculty members from 
underrepresented 
minority 
groups 
in 
STEM academic careers within the institu-
tion of higher education submitting an ap-
plication, and how the proposed reform ef-
fort would address such issues; 
‘‘(iii) how the institution of higher 
education submitting an application plans 
to sustain the proposed reform effort be-
yond the duration of the grant; and 
‘‘(iv) how the success and effective-
ness of the proposed reform effort will be 
evaluated and assessed in order to con-
tribute to the national knowledge base 
about models for catalyzing institutional 
change. 
‘‘(B) REVIEW OF APPLICATIONS.—In se-
lecting grant recipients under this subsection, 
the Director of the Foundation shall consider, 
at a minimum— 
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‘‘(i) the likelihood of success in under-
taking the proposed reform effort at the 
institution of higher education submitting 
the application, including the extent to 
which the administrators of the institution 
are committed to making the proposed re-
form effort a priority; 
‘‘(ii) the degree to which the proposed 
reform effort will contribute to change in 
institutional culture and policy such that 
greater value is placed on the recruitment, 
retention, and advancement of faculty 
members from underrepresented minority 
groups; 
‘‘(iii) the likelihood that the institu-
tion of higher education will sustain or ex-
pand the proposed reform effort beyond 
the period of the grant; and 
‘‘(iv) the degree to which evaluation 
and assessment plans are included in the 
design of the proposed reform effort. 
‘‘(C) GRANT DISTRIBUTION.—The Director 
of the Foundation shall ensure, to the extent 
practicable, that grants awarded under this sec-
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