In the NIH OEODM, Special Emphasis Programs are components of the overall EEO Program and the primary legal responsibility for them rests with top agency management. The U.S. Office of Personnel Management's position is that agencies will create their own programs if they see a need for them. At the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the Office of Equal Opportunity and Diversity Management (OEODM) has established by authority of the Director, NIH, the American Indian/Alaska Native Employment Program.
The NIH American Indian/Alaska Native Employment Program (AIANEP) is part of NIH's effort to address and assist in reversing the underrepresentation and underutilization of American Indians and Alaska Natives at NIH. The NIH AIANEP seeks to recruit talented candidates from outside the NIH; retain, promote, and develop current employees; and create a pipeline for addressing current and future workforce needs; and to educate the NIH community about workplace barriers that may hinder American Indian/Alaska Native employees.
The NIH AIANEP is tied to the overall NIH Policy on Equal Opportunity and Diversity Management. Through the AIANEP, NIH is seeking to build relationships with American Indian/Alaska Native communities and engage them in the NIH's scientific, technical, administrative, and research opportunities. The NIH AIANEP calls for strengthening the NIH's outreach activities in a comprehensive effort to promote partnership opportunities with American Indian/Alaska Native communities in three critical areas: employment, education and biomedical research. The goals and objectives of the Program are supported by the NIH American Indian/Alaska Native Employment Program Manager as well as the NIH American Indian/Alaska Native Employee Council (AIANEC).
For more information on the NIH AIANEP, contact Carl Lucas, NIH American Indian/Alaska Native Employment Program Manager on 301.496.1584 or by E-mail on clucas@mail.nih.gov. For more information on the AIANEC see the rest of this Web site.