NCSE Evolution and Climate Education Update for 2013/05/10

(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