“The National Science Foundation (NSF) last week released its biennial report, Women, Minorities, and Persons with Disabilities in Science and Engineering, which provides a snapshot (as of 2010) of the participation of those groups which are underrepresented in science and engineering education and employment in the United States. The report, which takes its data primarily from surveys conducted by the National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics and is mandated by the 1980 Science and Engineering Equal Opportunities Act, reports no startling jumps or dips in participation in science and engineering by underrepresented minority (URM) groups, but it does show that URMs are slowly—in some cases very slowly—catching up with their white peers, except for in a couple of fields…The report reveals a depressing trend for [underrepresented minorities] rising to full professorships: Their share of these positions hasn’t improved much in nearly 20 years.”