Eugenie Scott

Eugenie Carol Scott (born October 24, 1945) is an American physical anthropologist, a former university professor and one of the strongest voices challenging the teaching of young earth creationism and intelligent design in schools. From 1987 to 2013,^[1] Scott served as the Executive Director of the National Center for Science Education, Inc., a pro-evolution nonprofit science education organization with members in every state. She holds a Ph.D. in Biological Anthropology from the University of Missouri. A human biologist, her research has been in medical anthropology and skeletal biology. Scott is nationally recognized as a proponent of church/state separation and serves on the National Advisory Council of Americans United for Separation of Church and State and other organizations. She has worked nationwide to communicate the scientific method to the general public and to improve how science as a way of knowing is taught in school.

Early life and education

Scott grew up in Wisconsin and first became interested in anthropology after reading her sister's anthropology textbook.^[2] Scott received a BS and MS from the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee, followed by a PhD from the University of Missouri. She joined the University of Kentucky as a physical anthropologist in 1974 and shortly thereafter attended a debate between her mentor James A. Gavan and the young earth creationist Duane Gish which piqued her interest in the creation-evolution controversy.^[3][4] She also taught at the University of Colorado and at California State University, Hayward. Her research work focused on medical anthropology and skeletal biology.

Career

In 1980, Scott was at the forefront of an attempt to prevent creationism from being taught in the public schools of Lexington, Kentucky. From this grassroot effort in Kentucky and other states, the National Center for Science Education was formed in 1981. Scott was appointed the NCSE's executive director in 1987, the year in which teaching creation science in American public schools was deemed illegal by the Supreme Court in Edwards v. Aguillard. Scott announced that she would be retiring from this position by the end of 2013,^[5][6] doing so on 6 January 2014. Her place was taken by Ann Reid.^[7]

Recognition and awards

In 1993 the University of Missouri honored Scott as a distinguished alumna.^[8] She was elected to the California Academy of Sciences in 1994. She served as president of the American Association of Physical Anthropologists from 2000 to 2002. She was elected as a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in 2002 and was its chair. She is also a member of Sigma Xi.

Scott has received many awards from academic organizations. In 1999 she was awarded the Bruce Alberts Award by the American Society for Cell Biology. In 2001 she received the Geological Society of America's Public Service Award.^[9] She received the 2002 Public Service Award from the National Science Board for "her promotion of public understanding of the importance of science, the scientific method, and science education and the role of evolution in science education".^[10][11] In 2002 the American Institute of Biological Sciences awarded her the first Outstanding Service Award.^[12] Scott also received the 2002 Margaret Nicholson Distinguished Service Award from the California Science Teachers Association.^[13] The National Association of Biology Teachers gave her honorary membership in 2005.^[14] In 2006 she was awarded the Anthropology in the Media Award by the American Anthropological Association for "the successful communication of anthropology to the general public through the media".^[15] In 2007 Scott and Kenneth R. Miller were jointly awarded the Outstanding Educator’s Award by the Exploratorium Museum.^[16]

Scott serves on the National Advisory Council of Americans United for Separation of Church and State and on the National Advisory Council of Americans for Religious Liberty. In 1999 Scott was awarded the Hugh M. Hefner First Amendment Award "for tirelessly defending the separation of church and state by ensuring that religious neutrality is maintained in the science curriculum of America's public schools",^[17] and in 2006 was one of the three judges chosen to make the awards.

Scott has been awarded honorary degrees by McGill University in 2003,^[18][19] by Ohio State University in 2005^[20][21][22] and in 2006 by Mount Holyoke College^[23][24][25] and her alma mater the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee.^[26][27] In 2007 she was awarded an honorary degree by Rutgers University.^[28] In 2008 she was awarded an honorary degree by University of New Mexico.^[29]

In 2009, Scott became the first-ever recipient of the Stephen Jay Gould Prize from the Society for the Study of Evolution. She was chosen for devoting "her life to advancing public understanding of evolution."^[30] She was awarded the Public Welfare Medal from the National Academy of Sciences in 2010.^[31]

On August 21, 2010 Dr. Scott was honored with an award recognizing her contributions in the skeptical field, from the Independent Investigations Group (IIG) during its 10th Anniversary Gala.^[32]

On October 9, 2010 Committee for Skeptical Inquiry announced Scott (and others) as a part of their policy-making Executive Council, she will also serve on Skeptical Inquirer's magazine board.^[33]

On April 4, 2014 Dr. Scott received a Distinguished Service to Science Education Award from the National Science Teachers Association. The award is presented to members of NSTA "who, through active leadership and scholarly endeavor over a significant period of time, have made extraordinary contributions to the advancement of education in the sciences and science teaching." ^[34]

In June 2014, Dr. Scott will receive a Lifetime Achievement Award at the American Humanist Association conference in Philadelphia.^[35]

On July 12, 2014 Asteroid 249540 Eugeniescott (2010 HX14), discovered April 18, 2010, was named in honor of Scott, "who served as the executive director of the National Center for Science Education for more than 25 years" and "improved the teaching of science-based curricula for students throughout the United States."^[36]

James Underdown director of Center for Inquiry West and Independent Investigations Group (IIG) West presents award from the IIG August 21, 2010

Worldview

Scott was initially brought up in Christian Science by her mother and grandmother, but later switched to a congregational church under the influence of her sister; she describes her background as liberal Protestant.^[37] Scott is now a secular humanist and describes herself as a nontheist. In 2003, the San Francisco Chronicle reported that "Scott describes herself as atheist but does not discount the importance of spirituality."^[38] In 2003 she was one of the signatories to the third humanist manifesto, Humanism and Its Aspirations.^[39] She is also a fellow of the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry.^[40] In 2003 she was awarded the "Defense of Science Award" from the Center for Inquiry for "her tireless leadership in defending scientific evolution and educational freedom".^[41]

In 1998, Scott received the American Humanist Association's Isaac Asimov Award in Science. In her acceptance speech she explained how a statement adopted by the National Association of Biology Teachers that evolution was "unsupervised" and "impersonal" was attacked by creationists such as Phillip E. Johnson, and the initial reaction of the NABT was not to bow to pressure from creationists to change it. However, Scott agreed with theologian Huston Smith and philosopher Alvin Plantinga that "unsupervised" and "impersonal" should be dropped from the statement as they made philosophical and theological claims beyond those science could claim to make based on its principle of methodological naturalism—and the statement was altered.^[42]

Authorship

Scott is widely considered to be a leading expert on creationism (including intelligent design), and one of its strongest opponents. Her book Evolution vs. Creationism: An Introduction was published by Greenwood Press in 2004 and then in paperback by the University of California Press in 2005. It has a foreword by Niles Eldredge.

She also co-edited with Glenn Branch the 2006 anthology Not in Our Classrooms: Why Intelligent Design is Wrong for Our Schools.

In 2006 Jon D. Miller, Scott and Shinji Okamoto had a brief article published in Science entitled "Public Acceptance of Evolution", an analysis of polling on the acceptance of evolution from the last 20 years in the United States and compared to other countries.^[43][44] Turkey had the lowest acceptance of evolution in the survey, with the United States having the next-lowest, though the authors saw a positive in the higher percentage of Americans who are unsure about evolution, and therefore "reachable" for evolution.^[45]

Less seriously, she has co-authored with Glenn Branch and Nick Matzke a 2004 paper on "The Morphology of Steve" in the Annals of Improbable Research which arose from the NCSE's Project Steve.^[46]

Media appearances

2009 Independent Investigations Award Recipient^[47]

David Berlinski, a fellow at the Discovery Institute, describes Scott as an opponent "who is often sent out to defend Darwin".^[48] However, Scott prefers to see herself as "Darwin's golden retriever".^[49] Scott says that her job "requires coping with science illiteracy in the American public".^[42]

Scott has been profiled in The New York Times,^[4] Scientific American,^[50] The Scientist,^[51] the San Francisco Chronicle,^[52] and the Stanford Medical Magazine.^[53] She has had been interviewed for Science & Theology News,^[37] CSICOP,^[54] Church & State^[55] and Point of Inquiry.^[56][57][58] She has commentary published by Science & Theology News,^[59] Metanexus Institute.^[60]

She also acted as the education spokesperson for the 2001 PBS: Evolution TV series^[61]

Scott has taken part in numerous interviews on MSNBC and the Fox News Channel, debating various creationist and Intelligent design advocates. On 29 November 2004, Scott debated astrophysicist Jason Lisle of Answers in Genesis on CNN.^[62] On May 6, 2005 Scott debated Stephen C. Meyer of the Discovery Institute, on The Big Story with John Gibson.^[63][64] The latter concerned the Kansas evolution hearings.

In 2004, Scott represented the National Center for Science Education on Penn and Teller's Showtime television show Bullshit!, on the episode titled "Creationism", on which she offered philosophical views about the creationist and intelligent design movements.^[65]

(Sampling of) Podcast Interviews

Dover trial participation

In 2005, Scott and other NCSE staff served as scientific and educational consultants for the plaintiffs in the Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District case, which originated in Dover, Pennsylvania. Judge John Jones ruled against teaching intelligent design or creationism in the public schools.

Personal life

Scott and her husband, Thomas C. Sager, a lawyer, have one daughter and reside in Berkeley, California.

Bibliography

• Eugenie C. Scott (2004). "Evolution vs. Creationism: An Introduction". Berkeley & Los Angeles, California: University of California Press. ISBN 0-520-24650-0. Retrieved 16 June 2010.  Also: Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press. ISBN 0-313-32122-1
• Eugenie C. Scott & Glenn Branch (2006). "Not in Our Classrooms: Why Intelligent Design Is Wrong for Our Schools". Boston: Beacon Press. ISBN 0-8070-3278-6. 

References

External links

• Eugenie Scott from the National Center for Science Education
• Eugenie Scott on Teaching Evolution, Books and Ideas
• Eugenie Scott's talk: "The Right to Teach Evolution"