Chemical Society President Praises House Passage of Higher Education Act
WASHINGTON, July 31 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — The president of the American Chemical Society today praised Congress as well as a coalition of science, business and education organizations for their work leading to House passage of the Higher Education Opportunity Act which supports STEM education.
ACS President Bruce Bursten, Ph.D., Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, University of Tennessee, Knoxville said the final bill showed Congress understands the importance of STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) education programs to America’s future. The Senate is expected to act soon on the bill.
“For many years now, the American Chemical Society has been working with our colleagues in the science and education community and with members of both sides of the aisle to ensure that America’s institutions of higher education have the resources they need to prepare our students to compete in the technological economy of the 21st Century. The final bill (Higher Education Opportunity Act) clearly demonstrates that congress understands the importance of STEM education to our nation’s future.
“As both president of the world’s largest scientific society and a university faculty member and dean, I am grateful for the bill’s emphasis on improving the rigor of teacher-education programs in science and math, and the priority it places on providing incentives to encourage students to obtain STEM degrees and pursue STEM-related careers. I am especially pleased the bill takes actions to expand efforts to encourage diversity in the science and technology workforce by increasing the participation of underrepresented groups. On behalf of the more than 160,000 members of the American Chemical Society, I thank Congress for giving education policy the attention it deserves via this important bill.”
Congressional action marks the end of a five-year reauthorization process during which a coalition of science and education groups cooperated on a bipartisan basis to gain enactment of the legislation. In a letter to leaders of the Senate and House committees which guided the bill’s passage, the American Chemical Society joined 13 other science, education, and business organization in praising the “outstanding bipartisan leadership” of Congress on this issue.
The American Chemical Society with more than 160,000 members is the world’s largest scientific society.
American Chemical Society
CONTACT: Charmayne Marsh of American Chemical Society, +1-202-872-4445,c_marsh@acs.org