SCIENCE sciencemag.org
protection of existing natural ecosystems,
but whether it is better to restore cropland
to semi-natural ecosystems or support
ongoing agriculture in any particular place
will depend on a wide range of criteria.
Decisions of this sort need to be made
within the broader context of sustainable
development and at a range of levels to
account for both local needs and national
targets for greenhouse gas emissions
reductions. A clear focus on what consti-
tutes success in its fullest sense and how to
measure it is essential to keep all decision-
making grounded and practical.
Michael D. Morecroft1,2*, Simon Duffield^1 , Mike
Harley^3 , James W. Pearce Higgins4,5, Nicola
Stevens6,7, Olly Watts^8 , Jeanette Whitaker^9
(^1) Natural England, York, YO1 7PX, UK.
(^2) Environmental Change Institute, University
of Oxford, OX1 3QY, UK.^3 Climate Resilience,
Stamford, PE9 4AU, UK.^4 British Trust for
Ornithology, Thetford, Norfolk, IP24 2PU, UK.
(^5) Conservation Science Group, Department of
Zoology, Cambridge University, Cambridge, CB2
3QZ, UK.^6 Department of Zoology and Botany,
Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch, 7600,
South Africa.^7 Present address: Environmental
Change Institute, University of Oxford, OX1 3QY,
UK.^8 Royal Society for the Protection of Birds,
Sandy, SG19 2DL, UK.^9 UK Centre for Ecology
& Hydrology, Lancaster Environment Centre,
Lancaster, LA1 4AP, UK.
*Corresponding author.
Email: [email protected]
REFERENCES AND NOTES
- B. W. Griscom et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 114 ,
11645 (2017). - K. Paustian et al., Nature 532 , 49 (2016).
- P. Smith, J. Price, A. Molotoks, R. Warren, Y. Malhi, Philos.
Trans. R. Soc. A Math. Phys. Eng. Sci. 376 ,
20160456 (2018). - J. Pretty et al., Nat. Sustain. 1 , 441 (2018).
- A. Balmford et al., Nat. Sustain. 1 , 477 (2018).
10.1126/science.aba7577Cancel cuts to Graduate
Research Fellowships
The National Science Foundation plans to
decrease its Graduate Research Fellowship
Program (GRFP) awards, which support
graduate students pursuing degrees in
science, technology, engineering, and
mathematics (STEM) and STEM educa-
tion fields, to only 1600 in upcoming
competitions ( 1 ). No supporting evidence
or rationale has been provided. Such cuts
would likely have a disproportionate effect
on women and underrepresented minori-
ties. After the doubling of fellowships to
2000 awards in 2010, women and under-
represented minorities made substantial
and sustainable gains that have grown
over time ( 2 ). In the 2018 GRFP competi-
tion, nearly 58% of awardees were women,
and 23% (461 individuals) identified as
underrepresented minorities ( 3 ). A 20%
cut in new fellowships risks narrowing the
participation of these groups in the U.S.
scientific workforce, especially in STEM
leadership roles.
Cutting the number of GRFP awards
poses a threat to U.S. leadership in sci-
ence and innovation. It signals to the
“best and brightest” ( 4 ) U.S. citizens that
their talents are valued less in the STEM
workforce than in lucrative fields such as
management or finance. Although the U.S.
population grew by 5.8% between 2010
and 2018 ( 5 ), the number of awards has
remained at 2000 for the past 10 years.
This would be defensible from a policy
standpoint if employment in science and
engineering sectors were flat; however,
such employment is steadily rising ( 6 ).
The United States should be increasing
federal fellowships for its citizens, not
decreasing them.
We urge NSF and elected leaders to
cancel the cuts. GRFP recruits a diverse
pool of talented early-career STEM
students from a broad range of scientific
fields, educational institutions, geographic
regions, and economic circumstances.
However, sustaining this public good
demands publicly available data and a
thoughtful approach to the mix of federal
funding mechanisms used to support
graduate students. We call for experts in
graduate education and STEM workforce
development to convene and consider
evidence-based policies for nurturing
student-centered research and innovation
in the United States ( 7 ).
Gisèle Muller-Parker^1 *, Susan Brennan^2 ,
Erick C. Jones^3(^1) Retired from National Science Foundation, Lewes,
DE 19958, USA.^2 Department of Psychology, Stony
Brook University, Stony Brook, NY 11794–2500,
USA.^3 College of Engineering, University of Texas
Arlington, Arlington, TX 76017, USA.
*Corresponding author. Email: [email protected]
REFERENCES AND NOTES
- NSF, Graduate Research Fellowship Program
Solicitation: NSF 19-590 (2019); http://www.nsf.gov/
pubs/2019/nsf19590/nsf19590.pdf. - G. Muller-Parker, S. E. Brennan, E. C. Jones, GradEdge:
Insights Grad Educ Res. 9 , 4 (2020). - NSF, “NSF announces Graduate Research Fellowships
for 2018,” News Release 18-022 (2018); http://www.nsf.gov/
news/news_summ.jsp?cntn_id=245024. - R. B. Freeman, “Investing in the best and brightest:
Increased fellowship support for American scientists and
engineers” (Brookings Discussion Paper 2006-09, 2006). - U.S. Census Bureau, “Monthly population estimates for
the United States: April 1, 2010 to December 1, 2020
(NA-EST2019-01)” (2019); http://www.census.gov/data/
tables/time-series/demo/popest/2010s-national-
total.html#par_textimage_2011805803. - National Science Board Science and Engineering
Indicators, U.S. S&E workforce: Definition, size, and
growth (2018). - National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and
Medicine, Graduate STEM Education for the 21st Century
(The National Academies Press, Washington, DC, 2018).
10.1126/science.aba6660INSIGHTSMembers and friends of
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