The National Science Foundation recently awarded Clark Atlanta University with a $10 million award focused on increasing the rate of data science graduates.
Awarded to the university as part of the National Science Foundation’s National Data Science Alliance, the new grant makes Clark Atlanta University the first HBCU to take part in the newly created program.
Through the initiative, the National Science Foundation has promised to create systemic change alongside over 1,000 HBCU faculty and increase the rate of Black people obtaining their data science degree by at least 20,000 in the next five years. The National Data Science Alliance, also known as the NDSA, will also devote itself to completing more data science research on how to get rid of bias and increase social justice.
“This is a monumental accomplishment for the HBCU community as a whole, and we at Clark Atlanta University are deeply honored to perpetuate institutional mission through data science,” said the president of Clark Atlanta University, George T. French Jr., Ph.D, in a statement. “Clark Atlanta University has deep roots in conducting data science research that promotes equity, including the seminal works of scholar and former faculty member W.E.B. Du Bois on these hallowed grounds.”
“This historic award exemplifies our commitment to ensuring competitive advantage for students to succeed and excel in our data-driven society,” he added.
The rate of Black employees in the data science field currently continues to remain low despite universities and companies promising to increase representation.
According to the most recent data, in a 2020 National Center for Women and Information Technology report, researchers found that only nine percent of Black women and seven percent of Black men in the U.S. were able to obtain a degree in Computer and Information Sciences compared to 39% of white women and 52% of white men.
When it came to representation in the career world, the numbers were even lower. According to a 2020 article by the Institute For Medical Engineering and Science, Black Americans were found to make up three percent of data and analytics professionals.
Overall, the lack of Black data scientists is part of a larger issue as most STEM fields in the U.S. have an issue with diversity. According to a 2021 Pew Research Center report, Black employees hold nine percent of all stem jobs- a significantly smaller percentage compared to white employees who hold 67% of all STEM jobs.
“We are excited that many HBCUs will collaborate with us to develop new equity-based discoveries in data science and expand student pathways that will change the face of data science,” said Talitha Washington, the lead investigator of the award, in a statement.
