Iowa Governor's STEM Advisory Council brochure

IOWA’S STEM SOLUTION
Governor Terry Branstad’s Executive Order 74 created the
Governor’s STEM Advisory Council in the summer of 2011.
The Council’s overarching goal is to boost student interest
and achievement in science, technology, engineering and
mathematics (STEM), so our young people have more career
opportunities and our state’s economy is more robust.
Co-chaired by Lieutenant Governor Kim Reynolds and University
of Northern Iowa President Ben Allen (to be succeeded by
Vermeer CEO Mary Vermeer Andringa in June 2013), the
Governor’s STEM Advisory Council includes 40 dedicated leaders
from across the state representing Iowa’s education, business
and non-profit sectors, as well as legislators, state agency
directors and national STEM experts.
Specific areas of focus for the next several years have emerged
from the Governor’s STEM Advisory Council, including:
• Student interest and achievement in STEM.
• STEM policy.
• STEM teacher recruitment and preparation.
• Technology-enhanced instruction for global learning.
• STEM for all – the highly-abled, under-represented,
nontraditional learners.
• STEM learner readiness for post-secondary education
and career.
• Public-private partnerships and mapping STEM
to economic development.
• Public awareness of the importance of STEM for
the economy and society.
SYSTEMIC STEM REFORM
Accompanying Iowa’s rapid roll-out of exemplary programming
through scale-up are the recommendations of action plan working
groups of the Council. Sustainable success involves supportive
policies, school cultures of innovation, modernized teacher
preparatory pathways, stronger public-private partnerships, a
more inclusive talent pipeline, strong public buy-in and more.
Pressing recommendations from the Council Working Groups include:
• Promote STEM-focused schools.
• Carry out a STEM public awareness campaign.
• Create the STEM teaching certificate at the secondary
and elementary levels.
• Build a comprehensive online resource to serve STEM
educators.
• Focus on outcomes, competencies and certifiable skills for
STEM graduates.
• Forge public-private partnerships that share both the
financial and human resource responsibilities of a strong
state STEM initiative.
Governor’s STEM Advisory Council
Dedicated to Building a Strong
STEM Education Foundation
for all Iowans
MEASURES OF SUCCESS
An evaluative partnership of Iowa’s three public universities —
the Center for Social and Behavioral Research at the University of
Northern Iowa, the Research Institute for Studies in Education at
Iowa State University and Iowa Testing at the University of Iowa
— collaboratively monitor Iowa’s STEM condition on behalf of the
Governor’s STEM Advisory Council.
www.IowaSTEM.gov
Iowa STEM
Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics
Governor’s STEM Advisory Council | 214 East Bartlett | UNI | Cedar Falls, IA | 50614-0298 | 319.273.2959
WWW.IowaSTEM.gov

Why STEM Matters
STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) workers
drive our nation’s innovation and competitiveness by generating
new ideas, new companies and new industries. Over the past 10
years, growth in STEM jobs was three times as fast as growth in
non-STEM related jobs. 1
The STEM workforce will remain central to our economic vitality
well into the future. We cannot win the future without recognizing
the growing need for STEM competencies across the economy. 2
The United States is facing a critical talent gap in science
technology, engineering and mathematics and is not keeping pace
with foreign competition. 3
Iowa’s economy is anchored to STEM-based industry sectors
including advanced manufacturing, information technology and
biosciences, which depend on a steady supply of talent. Growth in
Iowa’s STEM workforce is projected to be 16 percent (nearly 58,000
in 2008 to just over 67,000) by 2018. 4
STEM literacy improves lives, informing citizens in the areas of
health care, transportation, leisure, communication and many
others.
IOWA’S STEM CHALLENGE
• STEM jobs require post-secondary training, but Iowa ranks
below the national average in percent of community college
and university enrollees majoring in STEM (12 percent versus
a national average of 15 percent). 5
• According to ACT®, 51 percent of Iowa’s 2012 graduating
seniors tested college ready in mathematics; 38 percent in
science. Just 11 percent of all 2011 ACT-takers were likely to
pursue STEM.
• During the period 1992 to 2011, Iowa showed the least
growth in student achievement scores in mathematics,
reading and science of 41 states participating in the National
Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). 6
• Iowa’s rapidly diversifying student population has profound
implications for the STEM career pipeline. Ethnic and racial
minorities account for 93 percent of the state’s population
growth since 2000, but minorities are statistically about half
as interested in STEM post-secondary study.
IOWA’S STEM NETWORK
A Public-Private Partnership
The STEM Network was created by the Governor’s STEM Advisory
Council to deliver quality, coordinated STEM solutions to all Iowans.
Built to meet local needs, each STEM region is overseen by a
competitively awarded hub institution cost-sharing the support of
a regional manager. Managers are advised by six separate advisory
boards consisting of representatives of business and industry,
K-12 schools, AEAs, county extension offices, community colleges,
public and private universities, informal science centers, nonprofit
organizations, youth agencies, workforce and economic development
departments and local governments. All activities of regional
managers and their boards are guided by the Governor’s STEM
Advisory Council.
INTEREST AND
ACHIEVEMENT IN STEM
Through Iowa’s Regional STEM Network the Governor’s STEM
Advisory Council is growing some of the most successful STEM
programming known to exist. The ambitious scale-up initiative
competitively selected 12 exemplary projects proven to increase
student interest and achievement in STEM. Local educators—
both formal and informal—may apply to bring outstanding
programming to communities across Iowa. The Council’s intent
is to make sure great STEM activities are made available to every
learner, especially those who have not had access in the past.
2012-2013 Scale Up Programs are:
• A World in Motion (AWIM)
• Fabulous Resources in Energy Education (FREE)
• FIRST LEGO League (FLL)
• FIRST Tech Challenge (FTC)
• iExploreSTEM
• KidWind
• Project HOPE (Healthcare, Occupations, Preparation
and Exploration)
• The CASE for Agriculture Education in Iowa
• State Science + Technology Fair of Iowa (SSTFI)
• Partnership for Engineering and Educational Resources for
Schools (PEERS)
• Corridor STEM Initiative (CSI) - Engineering is Elementary
(EiE) Component
• HyperStream - Technology Hub for Iowa Students
www.IowaSTEM.gov
References can be found at www.iowastem.gov/fact-check.