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Legislative,
Policy and Program Interests
 The
Commission on Human Resources and Social Change (CHRSC) monitors a broad range of
legislative and policy interests and seeks to exercise leadership in anticipating and
identifying national policies and practices that may impact on the role of higher
education in relation to human resources and social change. These interests may include:
Department of Education
The Commission has worked with other higher education associations in sustaining and
increasing the nation's investment in the Federal Pell Grants Program. It has supported
sustaining race-based scholarships, fellowships, traineeships and other forms of student
assistance as a means of creating greater opportunity in disciplines indicating a
disproportionate underrepresentation of minorities. Given the underrepresentation of
minorities in advanced degree programs and particularly in the sciences, the Commission
has supported continuation of Patricia Robert Harris Fellowships and the National Graduate
Fellows Program (Javits Fellowships).
For the upcoming program year, the Commission has agreed to focus on the changing role of
faculty in higher education with particular emphasis on framing programs and policies that
may increase minorities in the academy. Thus, the Commission will play a major role in
pushing for the expansion of faculty development programs in the Department of Education
and beyond.
National and Community Service
The Commission played a key leadership role with the executive branch in shaping
legislation for the creation of the National and Community Service Program. A policy paper
on the role of higher education in advancing community service was widely distributed to
congressional and policy makers.
National Oceanic
and Atmospheric Administration
The Commission worked with the Woods Hole scientific community in planning a national
conference designed to create new and innovative policies and programs to recruit
minorities in oceanography and related disciplines. The conference was sponsored under the
aegis of NOAA. In addition, staff presented a paper on the subject at a Black History
Celebration in Woods Hole.
National Science Foundation
The Commission has submitted comments on proposed regulations and budget mandates under
the aegis of the National Science Foundation, primarily focusing on initiatives designed
to strengthen relationships between higher education and secondary schools in improving
the quality of science education. The Commission met with the leadership of Education and
Human Resources of NSF in developing a national study on undergraduate education in
SME&T and submitted comments on the final study--"Shaping the Future: New
Expectations for Undergraduate Education in SME&T." Given the pivotal role of
higher education in sustaining strong undergraduate programs in the science, staff will
continue to work with NSF in finding ways to implement recommendations in the study
offering the greatest potential for change.
Other Activities
- Periodically, the Commission sponsors summer programs designed to share information and
expertise concerning educational and social policies and practices that enhance
opportunities for minorities in higher education. The Commission provides input at
national and state higher education meetings, prepares congressional testimony and policy
papers on issues of national importance to higher education and conducts research on
issues pertinent to human resources and social change.
- Commission leadership and staff served on a study Panel on Educational Opportunity and
Postsecondary Desegregation, sponsored by the Southern Education Foundation, an
Atlanta-based organization with more than 25 years of advocacy experience. The panel was
charged with the responsibility of examining the "legal mandate to desegregate
postsecondary institutions as a gateway to the larger and more compelling issues of
assuring expanded opportunities for minorities in a reformed system of public higher
education." Thus, in an 18-month investigation, the panel studied the constitutional
and legal ramifications of Fordice through research, hearings and extension discussions
with national and state leaders in the civil rights and higher education community. The
panel's final report, Redeeming the American Promise, was released in 1995.
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