Release date: Sept. 29, 2005
Contact: Beverly Cox Clark at 404-712-8780 or beverly.clark@emory.edu

Emory Experts Discuss Intelligent Design, Evolution in K-12 Curriculum

Across the country, the debate over evolution and alternative ideas such as intelligent design in science curriculums for K-12 students continues to flare up with regularity. A lawsuit challenging the teaching of intelligent design as an alternative to evolution is now underway in Dover, Pa. The underlying theory of modern biology also has been contested in recent years in Missouri, California and Georgia, where the proposed omission of evolution in the public school science curriculum provoked national and international protest.

Below are experts on the issue who can provide perspective on what is happening nationally, the growing inclusion of alternative arguments like intelligent design, how evolution is taught and why evolution remains a controversial subject for many.

Benjamin Z. Freed, an Emory anthropologist and father of a public school student, is chairman of the Georgia Citizens for Integrity in Science Education, a non-profit citizens action group dedicated to promoting scientific literacy and excellence in science education. He says including intelligent design within a science curriculum undermines the value of learning about evolution, and takes away from the time students have to study and comprehend basic science. Reach Freed at 404-727-4021(w), 770-315-9669 (cell) or bzfreed@emory.edu.

Pat Marsteller is director of Emory University’s Center for Science Education and an expert on science education for K-12 students. She also teaches biology courses on evolution. Emory’s center has developed several innovative programs to bolster science literacy for students and teachers at the K-12, college and postgraduate levels. Reach Marsteller at 404-727-9696 or pmars@learnlink.emory.edu.

Carlos S. Moreno is an assistant professor of pathology and laboratory medicine in the Emory University School of Medicine and an assistant professor of hematology and oncology for Emory’s Winship Cancer Institute. Moreno is an outspoken critic of alternative theories of evolution such as creationism and intelligent design and is a member of Georgia Citizens for Integrity in Science Education. Reach Moreno at 404-712-2809 or cmoreno@emory.edu.

Other Emory scientists and educators are available on this topic. Contact Beverly Clark, 404-712-8780 (w), 404-275-4771(c) or beverly.clark@emory.edu or Elaine Justice, 404-727-0643 or elaine.justice@emory.edu, for assistance.

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