US Navy Pledges More than $100M to Foster STEM Education

As part of the 2011 Naval STEM Forum taking place this week in Washington, Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus announced the Navy plans to invest $108 million in science and technology education by 2016.
“We’re going to double our funding in targeted education and innovation in order to reach the maximum number of people and have the maximum impact we can,” said Mabus. 

Mabus also announced a new strategic roadmap in which the Navy will concentrate on programs that inspire and engage younger students, mentor and assist college-level STEM majors, and help recruit and retain professionals in the field.

According to a 2010 UCLA study, freshmen majoring in STEM are more likely to shift to another major outside the field by the end of their first year and less than half of those students who stick with it complete a STEM-related bachelor’s degree within four years.  

“There are plenty of metrics showing that a smaller percent of the country’s best students are choosing these fields – and that’s a problem for society at large,” said James Brown, executive director of the STEM Education Coalition.  “But it’s hitting the military hard.  Only US citizens are eligible for national security clearances, so neither the Navy nor defense companies on contract can tap highly educated foreign workers.” 

For more information, see the story from FoxNews.com.