National Science Board Commission on 21st Century Education in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics

Members

The Honorable Louis Stokes

Former United States Congressman (D-OH)

Former United States Congressman Louis Stokes served 15 consecutive terms in the U.S. Congress, representing the Eleventh Congressional District of Ohio. He was the first African American elected to Congress from the State of Ohio and the first African American to retire from the House of Representatives, having completed 30 years of service. Mr. Stokes was educated in the Cleveland Public Schools, graduating from Central High School. After three years of service in the United States Army, he returned to Cleveland and attended Western Reserve University. He earned his J.D. from Cleveland Marshall Law School. Prior to serving in Congress, Mr. Stokes practiced law for fourteen years, during which time he participated in three cases before the U.S. Supreme Court.

During his time in Congress, Mr. Stokes served as a member of the House Appropriations Committee, chaired the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Veterans Affairs, Housing and Urban Development, and Independent Agencies, and served as the second-ranking Democrat of the Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies. He is the former chair of the House Select Committee on Assassinations, the House Intelligence Committee, and the House Ethics Committee and served as a member of the House Select Committee to Investigate Covert Arms Transactions with Iran. He was a co-founder of the Congressional Black Caucus. Following his service in Congress, Mr. Stokes became Senior Counsel at Squire, Sanders and Dempsey L.L.P., a global law firm, and a senior visiting scholar at the Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences, Case Western Reserve University.

The thrust of Mr. Stokes' career focused on advocacy for the poor and disadvantaged, especially those in urban America. He sponsored legislation to help people of color enter the intelligence community, fought for adequate housing for the poor, and oversaw the passage of the Disadvantaged Minority Health Improvement Act of 1989. Other legislative efforts included sponsorship of programs for minority professionals in health, science, and engineering at the National Institutes of Health and National Science Foundation respectively. The National Science Foundation has recognized Mr. Stokes' contributions toward improving the lives of all Americans and ensuring the full participation of members of minority groups by naming a national initiative in his honor – The Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation (LSAMP) program.

Through the years, Mr. Stokes has received numerous awards and honors that recognize his natural leadership and strong commitment to public service. He is the recipient of 26 honorary doctorate degrees from colleges and universities across the nation. A number of buildings have been named in Mr. Stokes' honor including Howard University's Health Sciences Library, an extension to the Cleveland Public Library's main building, the Louis Stokes Laboratory at the National Institutes of Health, and the Louis Stokes VA Medical Center in Cleveland.