Title 42 — The Public Health and WelfareRelease 119-73not60

§19016 Chief Diversity Officer of the Nsf

Title 42 › Chapter 163— RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT, COMPETITION, AND INNOVATION › Subchapter III— NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION FOR THE FUTURE › Part C— Broadening Participation › § 19016

Last updated Apr 5, 2026|Official source

Summary

The Director must appoint a senior official in the Office of the Director to be the Chief Diversity Officer. That person must have strong experience in the federal government and the science community on diversity and inclusion issues, such as civil rights compliance, handling harassment cases, equal employment, and disability policy. The Chief Diversity Officer must advise on diversity and inclusion policy, guide and coordinate efforts across the Foundation, and help ensure geographic diversity in Foundation programs. Other duties include making and publishing a strategic diversity plan with clear goals and measurable metrics; advising on ways to increase participation by a range of underrepresented colleges and institutions; advising on outreach to underrepresented places and people; advising on PreK–12 STEM inclusion goals and the Foundation’s broader impacts review; and any other duties the Director assigns. Congress authorized $5,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2023 through 2027 to carry out these duties.

Full Legal Text

Title 42, §19016

The Public Health and Welfare — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)(1)The Director shall appoint a senior agency official within the Office of the Director as a Chief Diversity Officer.

(2)The Chief Diversity Officer shall have significant experience, within the Federal Government and the science community, with diversity- and inclusion-related matters, including—

(A)civil rights compliance;

(B)harassment policy, reviews, and investigations;

(C)equal employment opportunity; and

(D)disability policy.

(b)The Chief Diversity Officer is responsible for providing advice on policy, oversight, guidance, and coordination with respect to matters of the Foundation related to diversity and inclusion, including ensuring the geographic diversity of the Foundation programs. Other duties may include—

(1)establishing and maintaining a strategic plan that publicly states a diversity definition, vision, and goals for the Foundation;

(2)defining a set of strategic metrics that are—

(A)directly linked to key organizational priorities and goals;

(B)actionable; and

(C)actively used to implement the strategic plan under paragraph (1);

(3)advising in the establishment of a strategic plan for diverse participation by individuals and institutions of higher education, including community colleges, historically Black colleges and universities, Tribal Colleges or Universities, minority serving institutions, institutions of higher education with an established STEM capacity building program focused on Native Hawaiians or Alaska Natives, and EPSCoR institutions); 11 So in original. The closing parenthesis probably should not appear.

(4)advising in the establishment of a strategic plan for outreach to, and recruiting from, untapped locations and underrepresented populations;

(5)advising on a diversity and inclusion strategy for the Foundation’s portfolio of PreK–12 STEM education focused programs and activities, including goals for addressing barriers to participation;

(6)advising on the application of the Foundation’s broader impacts review criterion; and

(7)performing such additional duties and exercise such powers as the Director may prescribe.

(c)To carry out this section, there are authorized to be appropriated $5,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2023 through 2027.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

42 U.S.C. § 19016

Title 42 — The Public Health and Welfare

Last Updated

Apr 5, 2026

Release point: 119-73not60