The goals of the conference are to enable attendees the opportunity to learn about business development, entrepreneurship, grants, contracting and fellowships, with a special focus on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics from an entrepreneur’s perspective. The conference is held on March 5-7, 2012.
The National Science Foundation (NSF) is an independent federal agency created by Congress in 1950 “to promote the progress of science; to advance the national health, prosperity, and welfare; to secure the national defense…” With an annual budget of about $6.9 billion (FY 2010), NSF is the funding source for approximately 20 percent of all federally supported basic research conducted by America’s colleges and universities. In many fields such as mathematics, computer science and the social sciences, NSF is the major source of federal backing.
As described in its strategic plan, NSF is the only federal agency whose mission includes support for all fields of fundamental science and engineering, except for medical sciences. NSF is tasked with keeping the United States at the leading edge of discovery in areas from astronomy to geology to zoology. So, in addition to funding research in the traditional academic areas, the agency also supports “high-risk, high pay-off” ideas, novel collaborations and numerous projects that may seem like science fiction today, but which the public will take for granted tomorrow.
Since January 2009, Dr. Marrett has served as NSF’s acting Director, acting Deputy Director, and Senior Advisor, until her confirmation as Deputy Director in May 2011. Before her appointment as acting Director, Dr. Marrett was the Assistant Director for Education and Human Resources (EHR). In EHR, she led NSF’s mission to achieve excellence in U.S. science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education at all levels, in both formal and informal settings.
From 1992 to 1996, she served as the first Assistant Director for the Social, Behavioral, and Economic Sciences (SBE) directorate. Dr. Marrett earned NSF’s Distinguished Service Award for her groundbreaking leadership of the new directorate. From 2001 to 2007, Dr. Marrett was the University of Wisconsin System’s Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs. She also served concurrently as Professor of Sociology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Before joining the University of Wisconsin, she was the Senior Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs and Provost at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst.
Dr. Marrett holds a Bachelor of Arts from Virginia Union University, a Master of Arts and a doctorate from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, all in Sociology. She received an honorary doctorate from Wake Forest University in 1996, and was elected a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1998 and the American Association for the Advancement of Science in 1996. In May 2011, Virginia Union University awarded Dr. Marrett an honorary degree as a distinguished alumna.
For additional information about the conference, visit www.asu-hbcu.org.
