THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press
Secretary
| For Immediate Release |
|
September 10, 1998 |
REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT
AT PRESENTATION
CEREMONY FOR
PRESIDENTIAL AWARDS FOR EXCELLENCE IN
SCIENCE, MATH, AND
ENGINEERING MENTORING
The Roosevelt Room
1:52 P.M. EDT
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you very much. I sawRepresentative Brown take my
speech off the podium -- (laughter) --and I thought that that was a rather
extreme measure to take todemonstrate that he still knows much more about this
subject than Ido. (Laughter.)
Let me thank all of you for coming and congratulate theawardees. I
thank Secretary Slater and Secretary Riley for theirsupport of this endeavor. I
want to thank Neal Lane for agreeing tobecome the President's Science Advisor;
and Dr. Rita Colwell forheading the NSF. When they were clapping for her, I
didn't realizethat she was sort of the poster woman of achievement for women
inscience. (Laughter.) But I couldn't think of a better one.
I would like to say one very serious thing about GeorgeBrown. Many
jokes have been made over the years about my affinityfor issues that don't
exactly grip the public consciousness frommorning until night every day, but I
think the public is moreinterested in science and technology than ever before
and understandsmore clearly its role than ever before. And I believe it's
importantto acknowledge that in the last generation, the member of Congressmost
responsible for our doing everything we've done right has beenGeorge Brown of
California. And I thank you for that. (Applause.)
Let me say, I'm quite well aware that we're starting alittle late
today, and I regret that, but I was in an extendedmeeting with senators from my
own party -- part of this process I'mgoing through of talking to people with
whom I work and with whom Imust work in your behalf to ask for their
understanding, theirforgiveness, and their commitment, not to let the events of
themoment in Washington deter us from doing the people's work here andbuilding
the future of this country. And I can't think of a bettermoment really or
subject for us to make that larger point.
All of you know how rapidly the world is changing. Now,everyday
citizens see it when they watched the gyrations of the stockmarket up and down.
I've been in Maryland and Florida the lastcouple of days -- mostly in schools
and with teachers and PTAleaders, and then at a couple of political events
where regularbusiness people would come up to me and say it truly is amazing
tothem how much events here are affected by events beyond our borders,and how
much people want us here to be strong, to be leading, to havea genuine and deep
commitment to preparing for the future. There isno better example of that than
the work that you do.
So the primary purpose of this event is for all of us --and
especially me -- to congratulate the President's Awardees forExcellence in
Science, Mathematics, and Engineering Mentoring, and tothank you for doing
this. Because not only those whom you mentor,but those whom they touch will
have a broader and more accurate worldview for the future. That will make our
country a better place.
We are living in a truly remarkable time, driven in nosmall measure
by the revolutions in science and technology. Oureconomy depends on it more and
more, and the maintenance of ourleadership depends upon our deepening
commitment to it more and more.Yet statistics show that in science,
engineering, and mathematics,minorities, women, and people with disabilities
are still grosslyunder-represented, even though we are becoming an ever more
diversesociety.
I've just really got this on my mind because I've beenin a grade
school in Maryland and a grade school in Orlando, Florida,this week, and I was
looking at those kids, and it is hard to imaginean American future that works
without those kids properly representedin the ranks of science and technology;
without those kids making aprofound commitment to mathematics; without those
young peoplebelieving that if they have an interest there, they can pursue it
tothe nth degree.
And the truth is -- you know, Rita talked about beingdiscouraged and
having people say they shouldn't waste scholarshipson women -- you hear similar
stories from our first women astronauts.You hear similar stories from the first
pioneers who broke racial andother barriers. But the truth is, even though we
need our heroes andour trailblazers, that's no way to run a society. And people
sooneror later just have to get over it. They have to get over it and open--
(applause.)
Now, look at this. Let me just read you this. TheAmerican Association
for the Advancement of Scientists shows thatbetween 1996 and 1997, 20 percent
fewer African Americans, and 18.2percent fewer Hispanic American young people
enrolled in graduateprograms in science and engineering.
Judy Winston is here, who has done such a marvelous jobof carrying
our President's Initiative on Race. One of the thingsthat I launched that
initiative on race to do was to highlightdevelopments like this, to talk about
these disparities, talk aboutwhat we could do about them. If we're serious
about giving everyAmerican the chance to reach his or her dreams, and building
a workforce for the global economy that reflects our national diversity andour
global ties, if we're serious about having the finest
scientists,mathematicians, and engineers in the world, we can't leave
anybodybehind.
Now, I've been working very hard to make sure that wehave more
uniform, high-quality, world-class public education inevery school in America;
that the children without regard to theirrace or their income or the region of
the country in which they live,or the income of the neighborhood in which they
live, will all haveaccess to the kind of preparatory education they need.
And we work very hard -- we've opened the doors ofcollege wider than
ever before in history with the HOPE Scholarships,with the tax credits for all
four years of college and graduateschools, with dramatic increases in Pell
grants and work-studyprograms, with the improvements in the student loan
programs. But wehave to do more if we are going to address this problem. All
that'sbeen done, and the problem you're here to celebrate your contributionto
solving is in many places and in many ways getting worse. And wehave to face
that because it is not good for America.
We started an initiative that I hope will be funded inthis Congress
that I think could really help called the High HopesInitiative, to provide
mentors for disadvantaged middle schoolstudents and be able to tell these kids
when they're in middleschool, you will be able to go on to college if you do
well, andhere's how much money you can get and here's what you can do with
it.
But still, once these young people get to college, ifthey come from
backgrounds where there is almost no record ofachievement in the areas you
represent, they need mentors. They needpeople who can guide them through all
these decisions that have to bemade about what you're going to major in and
what else you take. I'mbecoming an expert in that. (Laughter.) They need people
who canguide them into the right kinds of graduate programs. They needpeople
who can support them through graduate work and help them tofind a successful
career.
Now, when we started these awards in 1996, we did it toencourage more
scientists, engineers, and mathematicians to becomementors, and to encourage
more minorities, women, and young peoplewith disabilities to seek careers in
science and math andtechnological fields. Today I want to announce a new step
in thisarea. The federal government supports the work, literally, of tensof
thousands of scientists and engineers at national labs anduniversities all
across the country. If it were up to George and me,we'd support the work of
many more. But these are tens of thousandsof potential mentors working for our
country through your tax dollarinvestments.
Today I'm directing the National Science and TechnologyCouncil to
report back to me in six months with comprehensiverecommendations about how we
can use this fabulous resource togenerate more mentors, to touch more kids, in
a way that will have ahuge positive impact on this problem we're trying to
attack.(Applause.)
If every scientist and engineer who is doing somethingas a direct
result of federal investment were to become a committed,dedicated mentor, think
what it would mean: A teenager from ruralTennessee reaching for the stars as a
NASA technician; an inner-citychild joining a clinical team that discovers a
cure for cancer at thenearest teaching hospital; a first-generation American
helping tobuild the next generation of the Internet.
Henry Adams once said that teachers affect eternitybecause they can
never tell where their influence stops. I believethe same can be said about
mentors. And I thank you, each and everyone of you, for what you have done to
help our country reach its fullpotential.
Thank you very much. (Applause.)
