NCSE Evolution and Climate Education Update for 2013/05/10
Submitted by Peter Burns on Fri, 2013-05-10 14:44.
National Center for Science Education
(by NCSE Deputy Director Glenn Branch)
Dear Friends of NCSE, The "intelligent design" bill in Texas dies in committee. Sad news of the death of Christian de Duve. Plus NCSE is seeking a new executive director, since Eugenie C. Scott announced her impending retirement.
"INTELLIGENT DESIGN" LEGISLATION IN TEXAS DIES Texas's House Bill 285 died in the House Committee on Higher Education on May 6, 2013, when the deadline for House committees to pass House bills expired. If enacted, HB 285 would have amended Texas's education code to provide that "[a]n institution of higher education may not discriminate against or penalize in any manner, especially with regard to employment or academic support, a faculty member or student based on the faculty member's or student's conduct of research relating to the theory of intelligent design or other alternate theories of the origination and development of organisms." The bill's sole sponsor was Bill Zedler (R-District 96), who introduced the identical HB 2454 in 2011; he told the Houston Chronicle (January 7, 2013) that he was inspired by the movie Expelled. HB 285 was scheduled for a committee hearing on April 17, 2013. In advance of the hearing, nineteen faculty members at the University of Texas at Austin wrote to the committee to express their opposition, explaining, "While we strongly support academic freedom and protections for valid scientific research, we don't think colleges and universities should be required to look the other way when faculty and students distort mainstream science. Yet HB 285’s broad language could require that colleges and universities do more than simply look the other way. By barring discrimination 'in any manner,' HB 285 could force our state's institutions of higher education to fund research that distorts the mainstream science on evolution." In the event, however, the committee never addressed the bill. For the text of Texas's House Bill 285 as introduced, visit: http://www.legis.state.tx.us/BillLookup/History.aspx?LegSess=83R&Bill=HB285 For the article in the Houston Chronicle, visit: http://blog.chron.com/texaspolitics/2013/01/zedler-wants-to-license-strippers-shield-intelligent-design-researchers/ For NCSE's collection of information about and criticism of Expelled, visit: http://www.expelledexposed.com For the letter from the nineteen faculty members (PDF), visit: http://tfninsider.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/HB285letter.pdf And for NCSE's previous coverage of events in Texas, visit: http://ncse.com/news/texas CHRISTIAN DE DUVE DIES The eminent biologist Christian de Duve died on May 4, 2013, at the age of 95, according to the de Duve Institute. In 1974, de Duve, Albert Claude, and George E. Palade received the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine "for their discoveries concerning the structural and functional organization of the cell"; de Duve's work on lysosomes and peroxisomes was specifically cited as important. A prolific writer, later in his career he wrote a number of books for the general public, including Vital Dust (Basic Books, 1995), Life Evolving (Oxford University Press, 2002), Singularities (Cambridge University Press, 2005), and Genetics of Original Sin (Yale University Press, 2010). In 1997, de Duve told the Nobel Foundation, "In the last few years, I have become increasingly interested in the origin and evolution of life." That interest was in display in his popular books; he insisted, in Genetics of Original Sin, "Evolution is no longer a theory, just as heliocentrism is no longer a theory; it is a fact" (p. 11). Unsurprisingly, he was dismissive of creation science and intelligent design. In Singularities, for instance, he wrote, with reference to "intelligent design" (pp. 4-5): "This mechanism postulates the occurrence of evolutionary steps that could not possibly have taken place without the intervention of some kind of supernatural guiding entity. Strictly speaking, such a possibility hardly deserves mention in a scientific context, as it can come into account only after all natural explanations have been ruled out, and, obviously, they never can be. Intelligent design has, however, been advocated in a recent years by a small minority of highly vocal scientists, who claim to have demonstrated that certain evolutionary steps cannot be explained in strictly natural terms. Loudly acclaimed in many fundamentalists and even more liberal religious circles, these arguments have failed to convince a significant number of scientists." De Duve was one of the seventy-eight Nobel laureates in science to endorse the effort to repeal Louisiana's so-called Science Education Act. De Duve was born in Thames-Ditton, Surrey, outside London, on October 2, 1917; his parents were Belgian nationals who took refuge in England during the First World War. Returning to Belgium, he was educated at the Catholic University of Louvain, where he received a M.D. in 1941 and -- after a stint in the Belgian army and then in a prison camp -- a graduate degree (the equivalent of a M.S.) in chemistry in 1946. After post-graduate work abroad, he returned to Louvain, where he was a professor until 1985; from 1962 to 1988, he was also a professor at Rockefeller University. Besides the Nobel Prize, his honors included at least sixteen honorary degrees, membership in the National Academy of Sciences, and the E. B. Wilson award from the American Society for Cell Biology in 1989. For the obituary from the de Duve Institute, visit: http://www.deduveinstitute.be/ For de Duve's autobiography at the Nobel Foundation, visit: http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/medicine/laureates/1974/duve-autobio.html HELP WANTED: EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR NCSE is seeking to hire a new executive director to replace Eugenie C. Scott, who is retiring after more than twenty-six years at NCSE's helm. Duties will include serving as the public face of NCSE -- its primary representative to the public, the press, and NCSE's allies -- and serving as the chief executive of NCSE, ultimately responsible to the Board of Directors for the conduct of NCSE's internal and external operations. Further information about duties, qualifications, salary and benefits, and the application process is available from NCSE's job page. For the announcement of Scott's impending retirement, see: http://ncse.com/news/2013/05/ncses-scott-to-retire-0014832 For NCSE's job page, visit: http://ncse.com/about/jobs NCSE'S SCOTT TO RETIRE NCSE's executive director Eugenie C. Scott announced on May 6, 2013, that she was planning to retire by the end of the year, after more than twenty-six years at NCSE's helm. "It's a good time to retire, with our new climate change initiative off to a strong start and with the staff energized and excited by the new challenges ahead," she commented. "The person who replaces me will find a strong staff, a strong set of programs, and a strong board of directors." During Scott's time at NCSE, she was honored with no fewer than eight honorary degrees as well as the Public Welfare Medal from the National Academy of Science, the inaugural Stephen Jay Gould Prize from the Society for the Study of Evolution, the Public Service Award from the National Science Board, and the Scientific Freedom and Responsibility Award from the American Association for the Advancement of Science. "It's not going to be easy to fill the shoes of someone who has done so much to make NCSE into the respected and admired organization it is," remarked Brian Alters, the president of NCSE's board of directors. "We look forward with working with Genie to find the best possible successor." A job announcement is now available; members and friends of NCSE are encouraged to spread the word that what Scott once described as "the best job in the world" will soon be open. Science Insider (May 6, 2013) reported on the announcement, quoting Kenneth R. Miller of Brown University as saying of Scott, "She's incomparable, irreplaceable, and indispensable," and Sean B. Carroll of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute as saying, "The entire scientific community, legions of teachers, and millions of students owe her a great debt for her dedication and passionate advocacy. She has established a remarkable legacy at NCSE." For NCSE's job page, visit: http://ncse.com/about/jobs For the video containing Scott's description of her job, visit: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YC44w7ffO5E For Science Insider's story, visit: http://news.sciencemag.org/scienceinsider/2013/05/eugenie-scott-to-retire-from-us-.html Thanks for reading. And don't forget to visit NCSE's website -- http://ncse.com -- where you can always find the latest news on evolution and climate education and threats to them. -- Sincerely, Glenn Branch Deputy Director National Center for Science Education, Inc. 420 40th Street, Suite 2 Oakland, CA 94609-2509 510-601-7203 x305 fax: 510-601-7204 800-290-6006 branch@ncse.com http://ncse.com Read Reports of the NCSE on-line: http://reports.ncse.com Subscribe to NCSE's free weekly e-newsletter: http://groups.google.com/group/ncse-news NCSE is on Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter: http://www.facebook.com/evolution.ncse http://www.youtube.com/NatCen4ScienceEd http://twitter.com/ncse NCSE's work is supported by its members. Join today! http://ncse.com/join
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