NSF Budget Cuts Hamstring CHIPS Act And Community Colleges
In The News Piece in Forbes
Aug. 23, 2024
In a new article for Forbes, Shalin Jyotishi discusses how Congress' departure from CHIPS budget targets and slashing of the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) budget will harm community colleges' ability to grow the STEM skilled technical workforce.
Congress did something invaluable but underappreciated with the passage of the bipartisan CHIPS and Science Act of 2022. The “science” part of the legislation empowered the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF), America's federal agency dedicated to advancing scientific research and STEM education, to expand support for community colleges workforce preparation for emerging technology sectors.
Community colleges are well-known as affordable, accessible, and employer-aligned engines of economic mobility. Scientific and technological innovation spurred by federally funded R&D, CHIPS-specific investments, the AI revolution, and infrastructure investments such as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the Inflation Reduction Act have compounded America's need for skilled technical talent and community colleges.