NSF selects James L. Moore III to head the Education and Human Resources Directorate

The U.S. National Science Foundation has selected James L. Moore III to head the Directorate for Education and Human Resources, or EHR, which supports research that enhances learning and teaching, and broad efforts to achieve excellence in STEM education at all levels and in all settings.

Since 2018, Moore has been vice provost for diversity and inclusion and chief diversity officer at The Ohio State University. In this role, he has managed a robust diversity and inclusion portfolio, serving more than 6,000 undergraduate, graduate, and professional students and a myriad of faculty, postdocs, and staff throughout the university. Simultaneously, he served as the first executive director of the Todd Anthony Bell National Resource Center on the African American Male and is a Distinguished Professor of Urban Education in the College of Education and Human Ecology.

"James L. Moore III brings great leadership skills and vision to our agency and is poised to develop new mechanisms and models for reaching the missing millions in our country," said NSF Director Sethuraman Panchanathan. "His efforts will inspire the next-generation STEM workforce as they unleash their potential and advance discovery and innovation across the United States. I am thrilled to have him join the agency at this important time when access to quality STEM learning experiences for individuals, family and communities is recognized as a national imperative."

Moore is internationally recognized for his work on African American males. His research focuses on a variety of education topics, including STEM education, gifted education, multicultural and urban education, and higher education. He has published over 160 publications, received nearly $40 million in funding, and given over 200 scholarly presentations and lectures throughout the United States and other parts of the world. Moore is no stranger to NSF and has received nearly $9 million in funding from the agency throughout his career.

"Becoming the new EHR assistant director is an opportunity that I do not take lightly. It extends the opportunity to be a part of the director's brain trust in bringing the 'Missing Millions' and developing critical strategy — within NSF — to attract, inspire, and cultivate more U. S. citizens for careers in STEM," said Moore. "With the recent passing of the 'CHIPS and Science Act,' there are immense opportunities to improve STEM educational and workforce outcomes. I am very excited about the possibilities and ready to run the marathon at a sprinter's pace to put forth strong initiatives that build a robust, diverse, and inclusive STEM workforce throughout the country."

NSF's EHR Directorate invests in the development of people and knowledge, supporting the development of a diverse and well-prepared workforce of scientists, technicians, engineers, mathematicians and educators and a well-informed citizenry that have access to the ideas and tools of science and engineering. In his new role, Moore hopes to build on the successes of the previous assistant directors. "I am very interested in pinpointing ways to improve STEM preparation and pathways in rural and urban, underserved and under-resourced communities across the United States and advancing scientific knowledge on how best to improve STEM educational and workforce outcomes for talented individuals in some of the most distressed communities across the nation," Moore added.

From 2015 to 2017, Moore served as NSF program director for the Broadening Participation in Engineering program and also helped launched NSF INCLUDES, a national broadening participation initiative. "I am very familiar with the EHR Directorate and understand its significance in broadening participation in STEM, supporting STEM education research and cultivating key educational and workforce pathways throughout the STEM enterprise. I look forward to working with colleagues across the agency and beyond to advance the broad portfolio of EHR," Moore added.

Since 2018, he has been annually cited by Education Week as one of the 200 most influential scholars and researchers in the United States. Throughout his career, he has received many prestigious awards, honors and distinctions. Notably, he was selected as an American Educational Research Association Fellow, American Counseling Association Fellow, American Council on Education Fellow and a Big Ten Committee on Institutional Cooperation Academic Leadership Program Fellow. Earlier this year, the Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities recognized him with its highly regarded Michael P. Malone International Leadership Award and in 2021, the American Council on Education honored him with the Reginald Wilson Diversity Leadership Award.

Moore has a bachelor's degree in English education from Delaware State University and master's and doctoral degrees in counselor education from Virginia Tech.

Moore will begin his NSF appointment on August 22, 2022.