AIBS Executive Director's Weekly Blog

(Excerpted from Springer press release, 12 February 2007)

A father-and-son team-­a world-renowned evolutionary biologist and a highly skilled and sophisticated science high school teacher­-have decided it’s time to help science educators fight back against the strong pressure creationists are exerting on public education. In the new journal Outreach and Education in Evolution, to be published by Springer starting in March 2008, editors-in-chief Niles and Greg Eldredge intend to fill the gap between scientific literature and curriculum materials normally available to educators and students.

Niles Eldredge has been a paleontologist on the curatorial staff of the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) since 1969. His theory of “punctuated equilibria” (co-authored with Stephen Jay Gould) is a milestone in contemporary evolutionary biology. He has combated the creationist movement through lectures, articles and books and is the curator responsible for the content of the major exhibition Darwin which opened at the AMNH in New York in November 2005, drawing in over 500,000 visitors. Greg Eldredge has a Masters Degree in Education and has been a New York City school teacher for the past three years. He is a co-author of the children’s book The Fossil Factory. The two are supported by an international editorial board, made up of some of the most renowned scientists in the field.

Niles and Greg Eldredge are in agreement: “Evolution remains the central unifying idea in biology and yet is still a source of contention and confusion in the classroom. In Outreach and Education in Evolution, we’ll cover the gamut, from molecules to ecosystems and from ‘intelligent design’ to natural selection. We aim to make a big difference in evolutionary education.”

Kathleen K. Smith, Director, National Evolutionary Synthesis Center, said, “As an official partner of Outreach and Education in Evolution, NESCENT is pleased to support this important endeavor. Focusing on the issues and challenges surrounding evolution education, it will provide a much needed resource for teachers presenting this important but often poorly understood subject. I believe that it will fill a valuable niche.”

Douglas J. Futuyma, Distinguished Professor at Stony Brook University and 2007 President of AIBS, added, “Increasing public understanding of science is of utmost importance. This is most urgently required with respect to evolution, which commands acceptance by less than half the American public. Springer’s new journal is very timely and indeed well overdue. It is sure to play a major role in science education in the United States and beyond.”

END OF PRESS RELEASE EXCERPT

Springer has asked AIBS to endorse this commercial journal's program. The AIBS Publications Committee and Board of Directors will be considering the request in the context of the AIBS BioScience journal's nonprofit operations, the BioOne initiative, and AIBS's own evolution outreach and education programs. AIBS member comments are welcome; please contact Kent Holsinger, AIBS Publications Committee Chair, kent@darwin.eeb.uconn.edu