Minority-focused STEM Funding Plan Raises Equity Concerns: They may appear as a blip on the federal budget screen, but science programs for minority-serving institutions are at the forefront of a debate over the role of these colleges and how best to prepare more students of color for science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) careers.In its 2011 budget plan, the Obama administration would consolidate several small programs for historically Black colleges and other minority-serving institutions into one larger initiative that, it says, will give greater visibility to this STEM issue. But since majority White institutions ostensibly could receive grants under this merged program, the issue of equity for MSIs is fast becoming part of the debate.
