Short title

This Act may be cited as the Minority Serving Institution Digital and Wireless Technology Opportunity Act.

Establishment of Office

(a)

In General

There is established within the National Science Foundation an Office of Minority Serving Institution Digital and Wireless Technology to carry out the provisions of this Act. (b)

Purpose

The Office shall— (1)strengthen the ability of eligible institutions to provide capacity for instruction in digital and wireless network technologies by providing grants to, or executing contracts or cooperative agreements with, those institutions to provide such instruction; and (2)strengthen the national digital and wireless infrastructure by increasing national investment in telecommunications and technology infrastructure at eligible institutions.

Activities supported

An eligible institution shall use a grant, contract, or cooperative agreement awarded under this Act— (1)to acquire equipment, instrumentation, networking capability, hardware and software, digital network technology, wireless technology, and infrastructure; (2)to develop and provide educational services, including faculty development, related to science, mathematics, engineering, or technology; (3)to provide teacher education, library and media specialist training, and preschool and teacher aid certification to individuals who seek to acquire or enhance technology skills in order to use technology in the classroom or instructional process; (4)to implement joint projects and consortia to provide education regarding technology in the classroom with a State or State education agency, local education agency, community-based organization, national non-profit organization, or business, including minority businesses; (5)to provide professional development in science, mathematics, engineering, or technology to administrators and faculty of eligible institutions with institutional responsibility for technology education; (6)to provide capacity-building technical assistance to eligible institutions through remote technical support, technical assistance workshops, distance learning, new technologies, and other technological applications; (7)to foster the use of information communications technology to increase scientific, mathematical, engineering, and technology instruction and research; and (8)to develop proposals to be submitted under this Act and to develop strategic plans for information technology investments.

Application and review procedure

(a)

In General

To be eligible to receive a grant, contract, or cooperative agreement under this Act, an eligible institution shall submit an application to the Director at such time, in such manner, and accompanied by such information as the Director may reasonably require. The Director, in consultation with the advisory council established under subsection (b), shall establish a procedure by which to accept and review such applications and publish an announcement of such procedure, including a statement regarding the availability of funds, in the Federal Register. (b)

Advisory Council

The Director shall establish an advisory council to advise the Director on the best approaches for involving eligible institutions in the activities described in section 3, and for reviewing and evaluating proposals submitted to the program. In selecting the members of the advisory council, the Director may consult with representatives of appropriate organizations, including representatives of eligible institutions, to ensure that the membership of the advisory council reflects participation by technology and telecommunications institutions, minority businesses, eligible institution communities, Federal agency personnel, and other individuals who are knowledgeable about eligible institutions and technology issues. Any panel assembled to review a proposal submitted to the program shall include members from minority serving institutions. Program review criteria shall include consideration of— (1)demonstrated need for assistance under this Act; and (2)diversity among the types of institutions receiving assistance under this Act. (c)

Data Collection

An eligible institution that receives a grant, contract, or cooperative agreement under section 2 shall provide the Office with any relevant institutional statistical or demographic data requested by the Office. (d)

Information Dissemination

The Director shall convene an annual meeting of eligible institutions receiving grants, contracts, or cooperative agreements under section 2 for the purposes of— (1)fostering collaboration and capacity-building activities among eligible institutions; and (2)disseminating information and ideas generated by such meetings.

Matching requirement

The Director may not award a grant, contract, or cooperative agreement to an eligible institution under this Act unless such institution agrees that, with respect to the costs to be incurred by the institution in carrying out the program for which the grant, contract, or cooperative agreement was awarded, such institution will make available (directly or through donations from public or private entities) non-Federal contributions in an amount equal to 25 percent of the amount of the grant, contract, or cooperative agreement awarded by the Director, or $500,000, whichever is the lesser amount. The Director shall waive the matching requirement for any institution or consortium with no endowment, or an endowment that has a current dollar value lower than $50,000,000.

Limitations

(a)

In General

An eligible institution that receives a grant, contract, or cooperative agreement under this Act that exceeds $2,500,000, shall not be eligible to receive another grant, contract, or cooperative agreement under this Act until every other eligible institution that has applied for a grant, contract, or cooperative agreement under this Act has received such a grant, contract, or cooperative. (b)

Awards Administered by Eligible Institution

Each grant, contract, or cooperative agreement awarded under this Act shall be made to, and administered by, an eligible institution, even when it is awarded for the implementation of a consortium or joint project.

Annual report and evaluation

(a)

Annual Report Required From Recipients

Each institution that receives a grant, contract, or cooperative agreement under this Act shall provide an annual report to the Director on its use of the grant, contract, or cooperative agreement. (b)

Evaluation by Director

The Director, in consultation with the Secretary of Education, shall— (1)review the reports provided under subsection (a) each year; and (2)evaluate the program authorized by section 3 on the basis of those reports every 2 years. (c)

Contents of Evaluation

The Director, in the evaluation, shall describe the activities undertaken by those institutions and shall assess the short-range and long-range impact of activities carried out under the grant, contract, or cooperative agreement on the students, faculty, and staff of the institutions. (d)

Report to Congress

The Director shall submit a report to the Congress based on the evaluation. In the report, the Director shall include such recommendations, including recommendations concerning the continuing need for Federal support of the program, as may be appropriate.

Definitions

In this Act: (1)

Eligible Institution

The term eligible institution means an institution that is— (A)a historically Black college or university that is a part B institution, as defined in section 322(2) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1061(2)); (B)a Hispanic-serving institution, as defined in section 502(a)(5) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1101a(a)(5)); (C)a tribally controlled college or university, as defined in section 316(b)(3) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1059c(b)(3)); (D)an Alaska Native-serving institution under section 317(b) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1059d(b)); (E)a Native Hawaiian-serving institution under section 317(b) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1059d(b)); or (F)an institution determined by the Director, in consultation with the Secretary of Education, to have enrolled a substantial number of minority, low-income students during the previous academic year who received assistance under subpart I of part A of title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070a et seq.) for that year. (2)

Director

The term Director means the Director of the National Science Foundation. (3)

Minority Business

The term minority business includes HUBZone small business concerns (as defined in section 3(p) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 632(p)).

Authorization of appropriations

There are authorized to be appropriated to the Director of the National Science Foundation $250,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2008 through 2012 to carry out this Act.