Minority Serving Institution Digital and Wireless Technology Opportunity of 2007

Floor Speech

MINORITY SERVING INSTITUTION DIGITAL AND WIRELESS TECHNOLOGY OPPORTUNITY OF 2007 -- (Extensions of Remarks - September 06, 2007)

* Mr. TOWNS. Mr. Speaker, today I rise in support of H.R. 694, the Minority Serving Institution Digital and Wireless Technology Opportunity Act of 2007. Before I go any further, I want to take this time to personally thank my colleague, Randy Forbes of Virginia, for his longtime support and hard work on this bill.

* This bipartisan bill seeks to improve technology instruction and enhance the communication network systems of minority serving institutions, many of which are located in poor, rural and isolated areas. Further, this important legislation seeks to deal with systemic disenfranchisement within minority communities by providing a means for partnership between MSIs and K-12 schools through teacher education, including the provision of preservice teacher training and in-service professional development. Under this legislation, MSIs are given an opportunity to further focus on disparities in access to quality higher education opportunities and the communities they serve.

* Mr. Speaker, as public schools scramble to open for the fall term, principals and superintendents are frustrated by the stress of not having qualified math and science teachers. Just last week, the New York Times published an article entitled: Schools Scramble for Teachers Because of Spreading Turnover, and reported how tough it is to find good qualified teachers to teach science and math in low income neighborhoods. My bill, H.R. 694, will help to produce a new generation of world-class teachers of science and, mathematics and engineers.

* Minority Serving Institutions play a unique role in the education of our diverse American workforce. According to a July 2005 House Committee on Science report, 21 percent of all college degrees and certificates awarded to African American, American Indian and Hispanic students are conferred by Minority Serving Institutions. Minority Serving Institutions also help underrepresented students succeed in all disciplines, science, mathematics, and engineering in particular. For example, of African-Americans earning bachelor's degrees in science, math, engineering or the technology field in 1996, 31 percent received them at an HBCU. Similarly, Hispanic-Serving Institutions produced 20 percent of science, math, engineering or technology bachelor's degrees awarded to Hispanics in 1996.

* Minority Serving Institutions have special skills in serving their communities, which include large numbers of low-income or first generation college students. In fact, I am a graduate of North Carolina A&T, as are many of my colleagues here today in support of this bill are graduates of HBCUs and MSIs. Unlike other, larger institutions of higher education, MSIs typically have small or nonexistent endowments and few wealthy alumni. As a result, the ability to purchase and pay for the upkeep of the technology that will prepare these students for the workforce is especially challenging for many MSI.

* Developing an educated and technologically literate workforce is an important part of our efforts to compete in an increasingly technology and information-based, global economy. Whether technology should be used in schools is no longer the issue. Rather, the current emphasis is on ensuring that technology is available and used effectively to create new opportunities.

* For these reasons, I ask my colleagues to join me in supporting H.R. 694, the Minority Serving Institution Digital and Wireless Technology Opportunity Act.

* In closing, I want to especially thank the higher education community who over the past 8 years have tirelessly worked to make this bill become a reality. Specifically, I want to thank Dr. Michael L. Lomax of the United Negro College Fund, Lezli Baskerville of the National Association of Equal Opportunity in Higher Education, Antonio Flores of the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities, Gerald E. Gipp of the American Indian Higher Education Consortium, the Telecommunications Industry Association, Alcatel Lucent, and the many other advocates who have worked on this issue.

Source