Centering Postsecondary Education to Create a more Equitable STEMM Field

By Dr. David Wilson, President of Morgan State University

In late February, I was honored to welcome the STEMM Opportunity Alliance (SOA) to the National Treasure—Morgan State University. The event was the first in a series of SOA-hosted discussions focused on co-creating a national plan to achieve equity and excellence in science, technology, engineering, mathematics and medicine (STEMM). When SOA launched in December of 2022, post-secondary education and addressing longstanding deficiencies of BIPOC representation in this space—particularly Black STEMM leaders, was identified as a critical piece of this puzzle. I’m proud that the organization’s first convening focused not just on higher education, but on the role of HBCUs in creating a STEMM ecosystem that looks like our campus…brimming with diversity.

Institutions like Morgan State University are cultivating the next generation of Black STEMM professionals, and it’s critical that institutions like ours are contributing to the larger conversation to create a national, actionable equity plan that works for organizations across our vast sector.

As Maryland's Preeminent Public Urban Research University, among the many scholars and future leaders we support are students exploring careers in chemistry, biology, engineering, mathematics, physics, medical laboratory science and computer science – just to name a few. The doors of higher education are opened as wide as possible to as many as possible here at Morgan and it is our mission to matriculate these future leaders of STEMM. Beyond our halls, our graduates are creating breakthroughs in artificial intelligence, mobility and fighting disease. Moreover, as an anchor institution in an urban setting, Morgan is keenly focused on and committed to the research that addresses the many challenges afflicting urban communities both here in Baltimore, Maryland, and across the nation. Because of this, we have a greater responsibility to the communities that we serve, and we are uniquely positioned to address these adversities and inequities through our scholarship and research. STEMM represents one very critical cog in the wheel of our success in delivering upon this mission.

It was inspiring to see our campus host a gathering full of professionals from government, higher education, industry and philanthropy dedicated to STEMM equity and excellence. We discussed best practices to recruit and prepare more STEMM teachers, how to ensure higher education can foster inclusion across the STEMM ecosystem and how to better support minority-serving institutions that are building a talent pool to drive excellence in science.

During her keynote address, Maryland’s Lieutenant Governor Aruna Miller discussed the responsibility of each and every one of us to make sure our students feel safe in their educational environments and confident in their own skin. Discussions throughout the day highlighted this: for students to succeed in STEMM, they must feel like they belong in this world. We also heard rich conversations around the critical role of data, transparency, and accountability among higher education and the necessity of cross-sector partnerships to enact systemic change.

With our core values of excellence, innovation and leadership, Morgan State was a natural host for SOA’s first event to create a national STEMM equity strategy. Infusing diversity and excellence into every student’s STEMM education and in every stage of a STEMM professional’s career is imperative to meet this moment in time. I’m proud to serve on the SOA Advisory Council to help make sure the conversations from this first meeting form the building blocks of our national strategy and make STEMM in higher education a reality for all students.

David Wilson, Ed.D., the 10th president of Morgan State University, has a long record of accomplishments and more than 30 years of experience in higher education administration. Dr. Wilson’s educational philosophy is to put the students’ experience first. As a leader, he is a consensus builder and a strong believer in transparency of process. His goal is to make Morgan a leader in producing the next wave of innovators in the U.S.