House Science Panel Chair Calls on NASEM to Study Racism in Science

Representative Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX), Chairwoman of the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, has requested the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) investigate systemic racism in academic research. In a July 29, 2020 letter to Dr. Marcia McNutt, President of the National Academy of Sciences, Chairwoman Johnson asserts: “We must meet this moment in history with a rigorous and thoughtful analysis of the extent to which the U.S. scientific enterprise perpetuates systemic inequities to the detriment of society as a whole, as well as how those inequities are manifested.” She has called on NASEM to install a panel of experts to “assess the influence of systemic racism in academia on the careers of individuals belonging to racial and ethnic groups historically underrepresented in the scientific, technical, and medical workforce.” Johnson asks that the panel examine the ways in which systemic racism in research and learning environments influences the recruitment, retention, and advancement of marginalized racial and ethnic groups across disciplines. The letter also recommends examining the extent to which racism has shaped research agendas and limited the breadth of research topics and diversity of researchers receiving federal funding; identifying policies and strategies that have been the most successful in addressing systemic racism; and identifying principles for sustainable organizational cultural chang...
Source: Public Policy Reports - Category: Biology Authors: Source Type: news