Statement by Lawrence Rudolph
General Counsel, National Science Foundation

On Resolution of Travis Kidd vs. National Science Foundation

The National Science Foundation (NSF) has long been committed to increasing the number of women, underrepresented minorities, and persons with disabilities in the science and engineering enterprise. Over the past nine months, NSF has been involved in a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the Minority Graduate Fellowship Program. After consultation with the Department of Justice, we have elected to settle this lawsuit on terms that impose no limitations on how NSF structures its programs and in no way diminish the agency's long-standing commitment to diversity.

NSF conducts - with full Congressional approval and participation - a comprehensive portfolio of educational programs that responds at all levels to the mandate of the Science and Engineering Equal Opportunity Act. That law, enacted in 1980, is as relevant and important today as it was then, and directs NSF to increase the number of women and underrepresented minorities in our research and education programs.

NSF is developing a single Graduate Research Fellowship program that will create a synergy with NSF's other ongoing initiatives for graduate education. The agency will now continue to focus its full attention on a new experiment in graduate education that will produce the leaders and role models so necessary to encourage and support future generations of scientists and engineers.

NSF -- together with all institutions that prepare and support fellowship candidates -- must ensure that the full range of talents of our diverse population will be brought to this nation's science and engineering efforts.