National Center for Science Education
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The National Center for Science Education (NCSE) is a non-profit organization affiliated with the American Association for the Advancement of Science. It defends the teaching of evolutionary biology and opposes the teaching of religious views in science classes in America's public schools. The center is located in Oakland, California. They are well known for coordinating Project Steve.
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[edit] History
The NCSE was founded in 1981 and incorporated in 1983, by several "Committees of Correspondence" that had been established to fight the promotion of "creation science" by Christian fundamentalists. In 1987, author and lecturer Eugenie Scott (PhD in Physical Anthropology) became its executive director. The Board of Directors and official supporters, as explained by NCSE, "reflects our scientific roots." The organization's supporters include Bruce Alberts, President of the National Academy of Sciences; Donald Johanson, discoverer of the "Lucy" fossil; and evolutionary biologist Francisco J. Ayala. Also the late Paleontologist and writer Stephen Jay Gould was a long-time supporter.
The NCSE acts as a central information and resource clearinghouse, and helps to coordinate the activities of people fighting creationists. The NCSE also opposes "intelligent design theory or alternatives to evolution" because they are "misleading euphemisms" of creationism.[1] The organization also has a legal advisory panel, and offers free information/literature to parents to share with school officials.
NCSE "is religiously neutral, though it cooperates nationally and locally with religious organizations, as well as scientific and educational organizations like the National Academy of Sciences, the National Association of Biology Teachers, and the National Science Teachers Association."[2] The group has over 4000 members who are "scientists, teachers, clergy, and citizens with diverse religious affiliations."[3]
[edit] Staff & supporters
The NCSE's staff consists of Executive Director Eugenie C. Scott, Deputy Director Glenn Branch, Information Project Director Wesley R. Elsberry, Public Information Project Director Nicholas Matzke, Outreach Coordinator Eric Meikle, Public Information Project Director Susan Spath, Faith Project Director Peter M. J. Hess, Education Project Director Louise S. Mead, Director of Operations Philip T. Spieth, Archive Project Director Charles Hargrove and Archival Assistant Carrie Sager. Previous employees include Skip Evans (Network Project Director), Josephine Borgeson (Faith Network Project Director), and Alan D. Gishlick (Postdoctoral Scholar).
- President: Kevin Padian -- University of California, Berkeley
- President-Elect: Elizabeth K. Stage -- Lawrence Hall of Science
- Past President: Jack B. Friedman -- Nassau Community College
- Secretary-Treasurer: Robert M. West -- Informal Learning Experiences, Inc.
Directors:
- Brian Alters -- McGill University
- John R. Cole -- science writer
- Barbara Forrest -- Southeastern Louisiana University
- Duane E. Jeffery -- Brigham Young University
- Michael McIlwrath -- Uff. Legale Nuove Pignone
- Andrew J. Petto -- University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee
- Frank J. Sonleitner -- University of Oklahoma, Norman
Founder: Stanley L. Weinberg
Supporters:
- Bruce Alberts -- National Academy of Science
- Francisco J. Ayala -- University of California, Irvine
- Frederick Borsch -- Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia
- Stephen G. Brush -- University of Maryland
- Sean B. Carroll -- University of Wisconsin, Madison
- Johnetta B. Cole -- Bennett College
- Joel Cracraft -- American Museum of Natural History
- Brent Dalrymple -- Oregon State University
- James E. Darnell, Jr. -- Rockefeller University
- Richard E. Dickerson -- University of California, Los Angeles
- Robert H. Dott, Jr. -- University of Wisconsin, Madison
- James D. Ebert† -- Chesapeake Institute of Johns Hopkins University
- Niles Eldredge -- American Museum of Natural History
- Milton Fingerman -- Tulane University
- Douglas J. Futuyma -- University of Michigan
- Alfred G. Gilman -- University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center
- Laurie Godfrey -- University of Massachusetts
- Stephen Jay Gould† -- Harvard University
- Donald Hornig -- Harvard University
- Norman H. Horowitz† -- California Institute of Technology
- Clark Howell -- University of California, Berkeley
- Duane E. Jeffery -- Brigham Young University
- Donald Johanson -- Institute for Human Origins
- Patricia Kelley -- University of North Carolina, Wilmington
- Philip Kitcher -- Columbia University
- Richard C. Lewontin -- Harvard University
- Paul MacCready -- Aerovironment, Inc.
- Lynn Margulis, University of Massachusetts
- Malcolm McKenna -- American Museum of Natural History
- Keith B. Miller -- Kansas State University
- Kenneth Miller -- Brown University
- John A. Moore† -- University of California, Riverside
- Dorothy Nelkin† -- New York University
- Bill Nye -- The Science Guy
- William S. Pollitzer† -- University of North Carolina
- Joseph E. Rall -- National Institutes of Health
- James Randi -- conjuror
- Michael Ruse -- Florida State University
- James W. Skehan, S.J. -- Weston Observatory
- Frank Sonleitner -- University of Oklahoma
- Richard Stucky -- Denver Museum of Nature & Science
- Marvalee Wake -- University of California, Berkeley
- Mary Jane West-Eberhard -- Smithsonian Institution
- Tim D. White -- University of California, Berkeley
[edit] Media
In 2004, National Center for Science Education was represented by Dr. Scott on Penn and Teller's Showtime television show Bullshit! on the episode "Creationism." Dr. Scott offered scientific views about the creationist and intelligent design movements. She noted, "it would be unfair to tell students that there is a serious dispute going on among scientists whether evolution took place. There's not." She further noted that "a lot of the time the creationists... they'll search through scientific journals and try to pull out something they think demonstrates evolution doesn't work and there is a kind of interesting rationale behind it. Their theology is such that if one thing is wrong with the Bible you have to throw it all out so that's why Genesis has to be interpreted literally. They look at science the same way. If one little piece of the evolutionary puzzle doesn't fit the whole thing has to go." Scott then explained "that's not the way science is done."
