American Association for the Advancement of Science
Center for Advancing Science and Engineering Capacity

The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Center for Advancing Science and Engineering Capacity aims to reduce under-representation in STEM (science, technology, engineering, math) fields of women of all racial or ethnic groups and others from traditionally underrepresented groups, while promoting the structural changes that aid the successful entry of graduates into postgraduate study and the technical workforce.

The Center provides consulting services/technical assistance to individual universities and colleges seeking to increase the participation of U.S. students (especially women and underrepresented minorities) in science and engineering careers. The Center is addressing a number of marketing and positioning challenges in reaching academic institutions.
After a systematic review and analysis of pertinent materials and interviews with leadership in the field, the LGI team determined that the Center would benefit substantially from awareness-building activities in appropriate trade media. The interview process allowed LGI to hypothesize the challenges associated with lead-conversion (e.g., the current legal climate, lack of institution-wide interest, faculty biases, lack of adequate data, and bridging multiple departments and college-specific diversity programs) and to develop a media strategy that would specifically address these issues and showcase the Center’s value-added services. Target audiences were identified based on their roles as key decision-makers in the process.

The project itself was launched in the past few months and remains under way. The LGI team has just secured opinion pieces authored by the Center’s Director in Inside Higher Ed and in College and University.

Other LGI success stories in science and technology include Project California, the Sloan Industry Centers Program, the Commission on Professionals in Science and Technology, and many others.