116TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 2528 
AN ACT 
To direct the Director of the Office of Science and Tech-
nology Policy to carry out programs and activities to 
ensure that Federal science agencies and institutions of 
higher education receiving Federal research and develop-
ment funding are fully engaging their entire talent pool, 
and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS; FINDINGS. 
(a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 
‘‘STEM Opportunities Act of 2019’’. 
(b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 
this Act is as follows: 
Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents; findings. 
Sec. 2. Purposes. 
Sec. 3. Federal science agency policies for caregivers. 
Sec. 4. Collection and reporting of data on Federal research grants. 
Sec. 5. Policies for review of Federal research grants. 
Sec. 6. Collection of data on demographics of faculty. 
Sec. 7. Cultural and institutional barriers to expanding the academic and Fed-
eral STEM workforce. 
Sec. 8. Research and dissemination at the National Science Foundation. 
Sec. 9. Research and related activities to expand STEM opportunities. 
Sec. 10. Tribal Colleges and Universities Program. 
Sec. 11. Report to Congress. 
Sec. 12. Merit review. 
Sec. 13. Definitions. 
(c) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds the following: 
(1) Many reports over the past decade have 
found that it is critical to our Nation’s economic 
leadership and global competitiveness that the 
United States educates and trains more scientists 
and engineers. 
(2) Research shows that women and minorities 
who are interested in STEM careers are dispropor-
tionately lost at nearly every educational transition 
and at every career milestone. 
(3) The National Center for Science and Engi-
neering Statistics at the National Science Founda-
tion collects, compiles, analyzes, and publishes data 
on the demographics of STEM degrees and STEM 
jobs in the United States. 
(4) Women now earn nearly 37 percent of all 
STEM bachelor’s degrees, but major variations per-
sist among fields. In 2017, women earned only 20 
percent of all bachelor’s degrees awarded in engi-
neering and 19 percent of bachelor’s degrees award-
ed in computer sciences. Based on Bureau of Labor 
Statistics data, jobs in computing occupations are 
expected to account for nearly 60 percent of the pro-
jected annual growth of newly created STEM job 
openings from 2016 to 2026. 
(5) In 2017, underrepresented minority groups 
comprised 39 percent of the college-age population 
of the United States, but only 18 percent of stu-
dents who earned bachelor’s degrees in STEM fields. 
The Higher Education Research Institute at the 
University of California, Los Angeles, found that, 
while freshmen from underrepresented minority 
groups express an interest in pursuing a STEM un-
dergraduate degree at the same rate as all other 
freshmen, only 22.1 percent of Latino students, 18.4 
percent of African-American students, and 18.8 per-
cent of Native American students studying in STEM
fields complete their degree within 5 years, com-
pared to approximately 33 percent of White students 
and 42 percent of Asian students who complete their 
degree within 5 years. 
(6) In some STEM fields, including the com-
puter sciences, women persist at about the same rate 
through doctorate degrees. In other STEM fields, 
women persist through doctorate degrees at a lower 
rate. In mathematics, women earn just 26 percent of 
doctorate degrees compared with 42 percent of un-
dergraduate degrees. Overall, women earned 38 per-
cent of STEM doctorate degrees in 2016. The rate 
of minority students earning STEM doctorate de-
grees in physics is 9 percent, compared with 15 per-
cent for bachelor’s degree. Students from underrep-
resented minority groups accounted for only 11.5 
percent of STEM doctorate degrees awarded in 
2016. 
(7) The representation of women in STEM 
drops significantly from the doctorate degree level to 
the faculty level. Overall, women hold only 26 per-
cent of all tenured and tenure-track positions and 27 
percent of full professor positions in STEM fields in 
our Nation’s universities and 4-year colleges. Black 
and Hispanic faculty together hold about 6.8 percent
of all tenured and tenure-track positions and 7.5 
percent of full professor positions. Many of the num-
bers in the American Indian or Alaskan Native and 
Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander cat-
egories for different faculty ranks were too small for 
the National Science Foundation to report publicly 
without potentially compromising confidential infor-
mation about the individuals being surveyed. 
(8) The representation of women is especially 
low at our Nation’s top research universities. Even 
in the biological sciences, in which women now earn 
more than 50 percent of the doctorates and passed 
the 25 percent level 37 years ago, women make up 
only 25 percent of the full professors at the approxi-
mately 100 most research-intensive universities in 
the United States. In the physical sciences and 
mathematics, women make up only 11 percent of full 
professors, in computer sciences only 10 percent, 
and across engineering fields only 7 percent. The 
data suggest that approximately 6 percent of all ten-
ure-track STEM faculty members at the most re-
search-intensive universities are from underrep-
resented minority groups, but in some fields the 
numbers are too small to report publicly.
(9) By 2050, underrepresented minorities will 
comprise 52 percent of the college-age population of 
the United States. If the percentage of female stu-
dents and students from underrepresented minority 
groups earning bachelor’s degrees in STEM fields 
does not significantly increase, the United States 
will face an acute shortfall in the overall number of 
students who earn degrees in STEM fields just as 
United States companies are increasingly seeking 
students with those skills. With this impending 
shortfall, the United States will almost certainly lose 
its competitive edge in the 21st century global econ-
omy. 
(10) According to a 2014 Association for 
Women in Science survey of over 4,000 scientists 
across the globe, 70 percent of whom were men, 
STEM researchers face significant challenges in 
work-life integration. Researchers in the United 
States were among the most likely to experience a 
conflict between work and their personal life at least 
weekly. One-third of researchers surveyed said that 
ensuring good work-life integration has negatively 
impacted their careers, and, of researchers intending 
to leave their current job within the next year, 9
percent indicated it was because they were unable to 
balance work and life demands. 
(11) Female students and students from under-
represented minority groups at institutions of higher 
education who see few others ‘‘like themselves’’ 
among faculty and student populations often do not 
experience the social integration that is necessary for 
success in all disciplines, including STEM. 
(12) One in five children in the United States 
attend school in a rural community. The data shows 
that rural students are at a disadvantage with re-
spect to STEM readiness. Among STEM-interested 
students, 17 percent of students in rural high 
schools and 18 percent of students in town-located 
high schools meet the ACT STEM Benchmark, com-
pared with 33 percent of students in suburban high 
schools and 27 percent of students in urban high 
schools. 
(13) A substantial body of evidence establishes 
that most people hold implicit biases. Decades of 
cognitive psychology research reveal that most peo-
ple carry prejudices of which they are unaware but 
that nonetheless play a large role in evaluations of 
people and their work. Unintentional biases and out-
moded institutional structures are hindering the ac-
cess and advancement of women, minorities, and 
other groups historically underrepresented in STEM. 
(14) Workshops held to educate faculty about 
unintentional biases have demonstrated success in 
raising awareness of such biases. 
(15) In 2012, the Office of Diversity and Equal 
Opportunity of the National Aeronautics and Space 
Administration (in this Act referred to as ‘‘NASA’’) 
completed a report that— 
(A) is specifically designed to help NASA 
grant recipients identify why the dearth of 
women in STEM fields continues and to ensure 
that it is not due to discrimination; and 
(B) provides guidance that is usable by all 
institutions of higher education receiving sig-
nificant Federal research funding on how to 
conduct meaningful self-evaluations of campus 
culture and policies. 
(16) The Federal Government provides 55 per-
cent of research funding at institutions of higher 
education and, through its grant-making policies, 
has had significant influence on institution of higher 
education policies, including policies related to insti-
tutional culture and structure.
SEC. 2. PURPOSES. 
The purposes of this Act are as follows: 
(1) To ensure that Federal science agencies and 
institutions of higher education receiving Federal re-
search and development funding are fully engaging 
the entire talent pool of the United States. 
(2) To promote research on, and increase un-
derstanding of, the participation and trajectories of 
women, minorities, and other groups historically 
underrepresented in STEM studies and careers, in-
cluding persons with disabilities, older learners, vet-
erans, and rural, poor, and tribal populations, at in-
stitutions of higher education and Federal science 
agencies, including Federal laboratories. 
(3) To raise awareness within Federal science 
agencies, including Federal laboratories, and institu-
tions of higher education about cultural and institu-
tional barriers limiting the recruitment, retention, 
promotion, and other indicators of participation and 
achievement of women, minorities, and other groups 
historically underrepresented in academic and Gov-
ernment STEM research careers at all levels. 
(4) To identify, disseminate, and implement 
best practices at Federal science agencies, including 
Federal laboratories, and at institutions of higher 
education to remove or reduce cultural and institu-
tional barriers limiting the recruitment, retention, 
and success of women, minorities, and other groups 
historically underrepresented in academic and Gov-
ernment STEM research careers. 
(5) To provide grants to institutions of higher 
education to recruit, retain, and advance STEM fac-
ulty members from underrepresented minority 
groups and to implement or expand reforms in un-
dergraduate STEM education in order to increase 
the number of students from underrepresented mi-
nority groups receiving degrees in these fields. 
SEC. 3. FEDERAL SCIENCE AGENCY POLICIES FOR CARE-
GIVERS. 
(a) OSTP GUIDANCE.—Not later than 6 months 
after the date of enactment of this Act, the Director, in 
consultation with relevant agencies, shall provide guidance 
to each Federal science agency to establish policies that— 
(1) apply to all— 
(A) research awards granted by such agen-
cy; and 
(B) principal investigators of such research 
who have caregiving responsibilities, including 
care for a newborn or newly adopted child and 
care for an immediate family member who is 
sick or disabled; and
(2) provide— 
(A) flexibility in timing for the initiation of 
approved research awards granted by such 
agency; 
(B) no-cost extensions of such research 
awards; 
(C) grant supplements, as appropriate, to 
research awards for research technicians or 
equivalent positions to sustain research activi-
ties conducted under such awards; and 
(D) any other appropriate accommodations 
at the discretion of the director of each such 
agency. 
(b) UNIFORMITY OF GUIDANCE.—In providing guid-
ance under subsection (a), the Director shall encourage 
uniformity and consistency in the policies established pur-
suant to such guidance across all Federal science agencies. 
(c) ESTABLISHMENT OF POLICIES.—Consistent with 
the guidance under subsection (a), Federal science agen-
cies shall— 
(1) maintain or develop and implement policies 
for individuals described in paragraph (1)(B) of 
such subsection; and 
(2) broadly disseminate such policies to current 
and potential grantees.
(d) DATA
ON USAGE.—Federal science agencies 
shall— 
(1) collect data on the usage of the policies 
under subsection (c), by gender, at both institutions 
of higher education and Federal laboratories; and 
(2) report such data on an annual basis to the 
Director in such form as required by the Director. 
SEC. 4. COLLECTION AND REPORTING OF DATA ON FED-
ERAL RESEARCH GRANTS. 
(a) COLLECTION OF DATA.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Each Federal science agency 
shall collect, as practicable, with respect to all appli-
cations for merit-reviewed research and development 
grants to institutions of higher education and Fed-
eral laboratories supported by that agency, the 
standardized record-level annual information on de-
mographics, primary field, award type, institution 
type, review rating, budget request, funding out-
come, and awarded budget. 
(2) UNIFORMITY AND STANDARDIZATION.—The 
Director, in consultation with the Director of the 
National Science Foundation, shall establish a policy 
to ensure uniformity and standardization of the data 
collection required under paragraph (1). 
(3) RECORD-LEVEL DATA.—
(A) REQUIREMENT.—Beginning not later 
than 2 years after the date of the enactment of 
this Act, and on an annual basis thereafter, 
each Federal science agency shall submit to the 
Director of the National Science Foundation 
record-level data collected under paragraph (1) 
in the form required by such Director. 
(B) PREVIOUS DATA.—As part of the first 
submission under subparagraph (A), each Fed-
eral science agency, to the extent practicable, 
shall also submit comparable record-level data 
for the 5 years preceding the date of such sub-
mission. 
(b) REPORTING OF DATA.—The Director of the Na-
tional Science Foundation shall publish statistical sum-
mary data, as practicable, collected under this section, 
disaggregated and cross-tabulated by race, ethnicity, gen-
der, and years since completion of doctoral degree, includ-
ing in conjunction with the National Science Foundation’s 
report required by section 37 of the Science and Tech-
nology Equal Opportunities Act (42 U.S.C. 1885d; Public 
Law 96–516).
SEC. 5. POLICIES FOR REVIEW OF FEDERAL RESEARCH 
GRANTS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Each Federal science agency shall 
implement the policy recommendations with respect to re-
ducing the impact of implicit bias at Federal science agen-
cies and grantee institutions as developed by the Office 
of Science and Technology Policy in the 2016 report enti-
tled ‘‘Reducing the Impact of Bias in the STEM Work-
force’’ and any subsequent updates. 
(b) PILOT ACTIVITY.—In consultation with the Na-
tional Science Foundation and consistent with policy rec-
ommendations referenced in subsection (a), each Federal 
science agency shall implement a 2-year pilot orientation 
activity for program officers and members of standing re-
view committees to educate reviewers on research related 
to, and minimize the effects of, implicit bias in the review 
of extramural and intramural Federal research grants. 
(c) ESTABLISHMENT OF POLICIES.—Drawing upon 
lessons learned from the pilot activity under subsection 
(b), each Federal science agency shall maintain or develop 
and implement evidence-based policies and practices to 
minimize the effects of implicit bias in the review of extra-
mural and intramural Federal research grants. 
(d) ASSESSMENT
OF POLICIES.—Federal science 
agencies shall regularly assess, and amend as necessary, 
the policies and practices implemented pursuant to sub-
section (c) to ensure effective measures are in place to 
minimize the effects of implicit bias in the review of extra-
mural and intramural Federal research grants. 
SEC. 6. COLLECTION OF DATA ON DEMOGRAPHICS OF FAC-
ULTY. 
(a) COLLECTION OF DATA.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 3 years after 
the date of enactment of this Act, and at least every 
5 years thereafter, the Director of the National 
Science Foundation shall carry out a survey to col-
lect data from grantees on the demographics of 
STEM faculty, by broad fields of STEM, at dif-
ferent types of institutions of higher education. 
(2) CONSIDERATIONS.—To the extent prac-
ticable, the Director of the National Science Foun-
dation shall consider, by gender, race, ethnicity, citi-
zenship status, and years since completion of doc-
toral degree— 
(A) the number and percentage of faculty; 
(B) the number and percentage of faculty 
at each rank; 
(C) the number and percentage of faculty 
who are in nontenure-track positions, including 
teaching and research;
(D) the number and percentage of faculty 
who are reviewed for promotion, including ten-
ure, and the percentage of that number who are 
promoted, including being awarded tenure; 
(E) faculty years in rank; 
(F) the number and percentage of faculty 
to leave tenure-track positions; 
(G) the number and percentage of faculty 
hired, by rank; and 
(H) the number and percentage of faculty 
in leadership positions. 
(b) EXISTING SURVEYS.—The Director of the Na-
tional Science Foundation, may, in modifying or expand-
ing existing Federal surveys of higher education (as nec-
essary)— 
(1) take into account the considerations under 
subsection (a)(2) by collaborating with statistical 
centers at other Federal agencies; or 
(2) award a grant or contract to an institution 
of higher education or other nonprofit organization 
to take such considerations into account. 
(c) REPORTING DATA.—The Director of the National 
Science Foundation shall publish statistical summary data 
collected under this section, including as part of the Na-
tional Science Foundation’s report required by section 37
of the Science and Technology Equal Opportunities Act 
(42 U.S.C. 1885d; Public Law 96–516). 
(d) AUTHORIZATION
OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 
are authorized to be appropriated to the Director of the 
National Science Foundation $3,000,000 in each of fiscal 
years 2020 through 2022 to develop and carry out the 
initial survey required under subsection (a). 
SEC. 7. CULTURAL AND INSTITUTIONAL BARRIERS TO EX-
PANDING 
THE 
ACADEMIC 
AND 
FEDERAL 
STEM WORKFORCE. 
(a) BEST PRACTICES AT INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER 
EDUCATION AND FEDERAL LABORATORIES.— 
(1) DEVELOPMENT OF GUIDANCE.—Not later 
than 12 months after the date of enactment of this 
Act, the Director, in consultation with the inter-
agency working group on inclusion in STEM, shall 
develop written guidance for institutions of higher 
education and Federal laboratories on the best prac-
tices for— 
(A) conducting periodic climate surveys of 
STEM departments and divisions, with a par-
ticular focus on identifying any cultural or in-
stitutional barriers to the recruitment, reten-
tion, or advancement of women, racial and eth-
nic minorities, and other groups historically
underrepresented in STEM studies and careers; 
and 
(B) providing educational opportunities, in-
cluding workshops as described in subsection 
(b), for STEM faculty, research personnel, and 
administrators to learn about current research 
on implicit bias in recruitment, evaluation, and 
promotion of undergraduate and graduate stu-
dents and research personnel. 
(2) EXISTING
GUIDANCE.—In developing the 
guidance under paragraph (1), the Director shall 
utilize guidance already developed by Federal science 
agencies. 
(3) DISSEMINATION
OF
GUIDANCE.—Federal 
science agencies shall broadly disseminate the guid-
ance developed under paragraph (1) to institutions 
of higher education that receive Federal research 
funding and Federal laboratories. 
(4) ESTABLISHMENT OF POLICIES.—Consistent 
with the guidance developed under paragraph (1)— 
(A) the Director of the National Science 
Foundation shall develop a policy that— 
(i) applies to, at a minimum, doctoral 
degree granting institutions that receive 
Federal research funding; and
(ii) requires each such institution, not 
later than 3 years after the date of enact-
ment of this Act, to report to the Director 
of the National Science Foundation on ac-
tivities and policies developed and imple-
mented based on the guidance developed 
under paragraph (1); and 
(B) each Federal science agency with a 
Federal laboratory shall maintain or develop 
and implement practices and policies for the 
purposes described in paragraph (1) for such 
laboratory. 
(b) WORKSHOPS TO ADDRESS CULTURAL BARRIERS 
TO EXPANDING THE ACADEMIC AND FEDERAL STEM 
WORKFORCE.— 
(1) IN
GENERAL.—Not later than 6 months 
after the date of enactment of this Act, the Director, 
in consultation with the interagency working group 
on inclusion in STEM, shall recommend a uniform 
policy for Federal science agencies to carry out a 
program of workshops that educate STEM depart-
ment chairs at institutions of higher education, sen-
ior managers at Federal laboratories, and other fed-
erally funded researchers about methods that mini-
mize the effects of implicit bias in the career ad-
vancement, including hiring, tenure, promotion, and 
selection for any honor based in part on the recipi-
ent’s research record, of academic and Federal 
STEM researchers. 
(2) INTERAGENCY COORDINATION.—The Direc-
tor shall, to the extent practicable, ensure that work-
shops supported under this subsection are coordi-
nated across Federal science agencies and jointly 
supported as appropriate. 
(3) MINIMIZING COSTS.—To the extent prac-
ticable, workshops shall be held in conjunction with 
national or regional STEM disciplinary meetings to 
minimize costs associated with participant travel. 
(4) PRIORITY FIELDS FOR ACADEMIC PARTICI-
PANTS.—In considering the participation of STEM 
department chairs and other academic researchers, 
the Director shall prioritize workshops for the broad 
fields of STEM in which the national rate of rep-
resentation of women among tenured or tenure-track 
faculty or nonfaculty researchers at doctorate-grant-
ing institutions of higher education is less than 25 
percent, according to the most recent data available 
from the National Center for Science and Engineer-
ing Statistics.
(5) ORGANIZATIONS ELIGIBLE TO CARRY OUT 
WORKSHOPS.—A Federal science agency may carry 
out the program of workshops under this subsection 
by making grants to organizations made eligible by 
the Federal science agency and any of the following 
organizations: 
(A) Nonprofit scientific and professional 
societies and organizations that represent one 
or more STEM disciplines. 
(B) Nonprofit organizations that have the 
primary mission of advancing the participation 
of women, minorities, or other groups histori-
cally underrepresented in STEM. 
(6) CHARACTERISTICS
OF
WORKSHOPS.—The 
workshops shall have the following characteristics: 
(A) Invitees to workshops shall include at 
least— 
(i) the chairs of departments in the 
relevant STEM discipline or disciplines 
from doctoral degree granting institutions 
that receive Federal research funding; and 
(ii) in the case of Federal laboratories, 
individuals with personnel management re-
sponsibilities comparable to those of an in-
stitution of higher education department 
chair. 
(B) Activities at the workshops shall in-
clude research presentations and interactive dis-
cussions or other activities that increase the 
awareness of the existence of implicit bias in re-
cruitment, hiring, tenure review, promotion, and 
other forms of formal recognition of individual 
achievement for faculty and other federally 
funded STEM researchers and shall provide 
strategies to overcome such bias. 
(C) Research presentations and other 
workshop programs, as appropriate, shall in-
clude a discussion of the unique challenges 
faced by different underrepresented groups, in-
cluding minority women, minority men, persons 
from rural and underserved areas, persons with 
disabilities, gender and sexual minority individ-
uals, and first generation graduates in research. 
(D) Workshop programs shall include in-
formation on best practices for mentoring un-
dergraduate, 
graduate, 
and 
postdoctoral 
women, minorities, and other students from 
groups historically underrepresented in STEM.
(1) a summary and analysis of the types and 
frequency of activities and policies developed and 
carried out under subsection (a) based on the re-
ports submitted under paragraph (4) of such sub-
section; and 
(2) a description and evaluation of the status 
and effectiveness of the program of workshops re-
quired under subsection (b), including a summary of 
any data reported under paragraph (8) of such sub-
section. 
(d) AUTHORIZATION
OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 
are authorized to be appropriated to the Director of the 
National Science Foundation $1,000,000 in each of fiscal 
years 2020 through 2024 to carry out this section. 
SEC. 8. RESEARCH AND DISSEMINATION AT THE NATIONAL 
SCIENCE FOUNDATION. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Director of the National 
Science Foundation shall award research grants and carry 
out dissemination activities consistent with the purposes 
of this Act, including— 
(1) research grants to analyze the record-level 
data collected under section 4 and section 6, con-
sistent with policies to ensure the privacy of individ-
uals identifiable by such data;
(2) research grants to study best practices for 
work-life accommodation; 
(3) research grants to study the impact of poli-
cies and practices that are implemented under this 
Act or that are otherwise consistent with the pur-
poses of this Act; 
(4) collaboration with other Federal science 
agencies and professional associations to exchange 
best practices, harmonize work-life accommodation 
policies and practices, and overcome common bar-
riers to work-life accommodation; and 
(5) collaboration with institutions of higher 
education in order to clarify and catalyze the adop-
tion of a coherent and consistent set of work-life ac-
commodation policies and practices. 
(b) AUTHORIZATION
OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 
are authorized to be appropriated to the Director of the 
National Science Foundation $5,000,000 in each of fiscal 
years 2020 through 2024 to carry out this section. 
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— 
‘‘(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; 
‘‘(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 and postdoctoral 
researchers from underrepresented 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— 
‘‘(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— 
‘‘(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-
tion are made to a variety of types of institu-
tions of higher education. 
‘‘(5) AUTHORIZATION
OF
APPROPRIATIONS.— 
There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out