Increasing the Number of Underrepresented Minorities in Astronomy: Executive Summary

Promoting racial and ethnic diversity is critically important to the future success and growth of the field of astronomy. The raw ability, drive and interest required to excel in the field is distributed without regard to race, gender, or socioeconomic background. By not actively promoting diversity in our field we risk losing talented people to other professions (or losing them entirely), which means that there will be astronomical discoveries that simply won’t get made. There is demonstrated evidence that STEM fields benefit from diverse perspectives on problems that require more complex thought processes. This is especially relevant to a field like astronomy where more and more work is being done collaboratively. The lack of notable growth in African American, Hispanic, and Native American representation in astronomy indicates that the ‘pipeline’ for these individuals is systemically leaky at critical junctures. Substantially more effort must be directed toward improving the educational and career development of minorities to insure that these potential colleagues are supported through the process. However, simply recognizing that the pipeline is faulty is woefully inadequate. There must be very specific, targeted solutions to help improve the situation. With this in mind, we offer two position papers addressing specific areas of improvement that we identify as (a) essential for any foreseeable progress in the field, and (b) attainable in the 2010-2020 decade. These position papers focus primarily on African Americans, Hispanics, and Native Americans. Although we do not directly address issues of Asian Americans, Pacific Islanders, and other groups, many of the recommendations made here can be adapted to address issues faced by these groups as well.

💡 Research Summary

The executive summary addresses the persistent under‑representation of African‑American, Hispanic, and Native American individuals in astronomy and makes the case that the field’s future scientific success depends on actively diversifying its workforce. Over the past two decades, the number of PhDs awarded to under‑represented minorities (URMs) has risen only marginally—from roughly three per year in the late 1980s to about five per year today—remaining at 2‑4 % of total astronomy PhDs, while the share of these groups in the U.S. population grew from 20.9 % to 27 %. Consequently, the relative disparity has worsened. With roughly 2,600 permanent astronomy and astrophysics positions in the United States and an annual turnover of about 75 positions, achieving parity would require increasing URM PhD production from five to at least twenty per year, and ultimately to fifty per year if the same 40 % conversion rate to permanent jobs holds. This represents a five‑ to ten‑fold increase in URM PhDs over the next decade, a scale that can only be met by the entire astronomy community.

The paper proposes two coordinated strands of action. The first focuses on the undergraduate‑to‑graduate pipeline. It calls for “horizontal” and “vertical” partnerships between research universities and minority‑serving institutions (MSIs). Such collaborations would involve joint research projects, shared funding, and co‑development of internship programs, thereby providing MSI students with early, sustained research experiences. Existing mechanisms such as NSF REU sites and national observatories (e.g., NOAO) are highlighted as essential conduits for mentorship and skill development.

The second strand emphasizes K‑12 education and public outreach. Because astronomy has broad public appeal, the community is urged to develop and sustain programs that spark interest in math and science among minority elementary, middle, and high‑school students. Professional societies should identify effective outreach models, disseminate them widely, and help embed them in underserved communities.

Specific recommendations are grouped by stakeholder:

• Colleges, Universities, and National Centers/Observatories – Commit to community engagement, forge equitable research partnerships with MSIs, and create structured internship pathways linking minority students with faculty and staff mentors.

• Funding Agencies – Expand dedicated funding for MSI‑university linkages, embed broader‑impact criteria that reward minority participation in mission‑critical projects, and align funding cycles for education programs with those for research to ensure continuity.

• Professional Societies – Lead the identification and scaling of high‑impact K‑12 outreach initiatives, and build a professional network that connects URM candidates at all career stages with potential employers and mentors.

The authors also note ancillary issues that must be addressed: increased investment in middle‑ and high‑school science education in dense minority areas, incentives for URM graduates to pursue teaching careers, robust pre‑ and post‑PhD mentorship (including “off‑ramp” career options), and cultural considerations such as the importance of geographic proximity to family and community.

In sum, the document provides a data‑driven diagnosis of the URM pipeline problem, quantifies the scale of change required, and outlines a multi‑pronged strategy involving institutional partnerships, targeted funding, and coordinated outreach. While the goals are ambitious, the authors argue that only a concerted, community‑wide effort can secure a diverse, technically skilled workforce capable of meeting the scientific and technological challenges facing astronomy in the coming decades.