Broadening Participation in STEM: Critical Leadership Needed by Public Research Universities

Howard Gobstein is the Executive Vice President of the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU). He contributes to the overall strategic direction and management of the association, as well as directing work on STEM education and university research and technology policies. Working with the APLU Commission on the Science and Mathematics Teaching Imperative (SMTI), he co-directs the Mathematics Teacher Education Partnership (MTE-Partnership) and the APLU NSF INCLUDES pilot grant to broaden participation in university STEM faculties. He has been PI/co-PI on 15 NSF or foundation grants totaling about $10 million. He works with member university senior research officers through the APLU Council on Research (CoR). Past positions include VP of the Association of American Universities, senior policy analyst with the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, associate VP for governmental affairs for federal relations, Michigan State University; and director, Federal Relations/Research, University of Michigan. He holds a master’s degree in science, technology, and public policy from George Washington University and a bachelor’s in interdisciplinary engineering from Purdue University. He is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and was selected outstanding alumni of the Purdue School of Engineering Education in 2010.