Griffin calls STEM economic necessity

Arkansas Lt. Gov. Tim Griffin traveled to Washington on Thursday to attend a Science, Technology, Engineering and Math event featuring astronaut Mae Jemison.

The White House hosted the event, which was held in the Executive Office Building next door to the White House.

Griffin has worked to highlight the importance of STEM education and was recently selected to serve as national chairman of Lieutenant Governors for Million Women Mentors. The organization is committed to increasing the number of girls and young women pursuing educational and career opportunities in STEM-related areas.

Jemison, the first black woman in space, told the Huffington Post last week that it’s important to promote greater diversity in STEM programs.

Women and black people are underrepresented in STEM fields, Jemison noted.

“We’re losing talent, and we’re losing capability by not including them,” she said. “When people think about why it is important to have a diversity of talent in a field, they think of it as a nicety. No, it’s a necessity. We get better solutions.”

Griffin portrayed greater access to STEM programs as an economic necessity.

“The type of jobs that we want Americans and Arkansans to have are good paying, long-term sustainable, cutting-edge jobs, and those are STEM jobs,” he said in an interview.

The recognition “that we’ve got to do more on STEM is shared by the White House and the president,” he added.