Posted on 07/11/2005 6:48:41 PM PDT by PatrickHenry
Discovery Institute [of Seattle] has filed a public records request with the Ohio State University (OSU) seeking all documents related to Darwinist attacks on OSU doctoral candidate Bryan Leonard. The request was submitted under the Ohio Public Records Act.
In June, Leonard's dissertation defense in the area of science education was suddenly postponed after three Darwinist professors [O the horror!] at OSU attacked Leonard's dissertation research because it analyzed how teaching students evidence for and against macroevolution impacted student beliefs. According to a news report in The Columbus Dispatch, the professors admitted at the time that they had not read Leonard's dissertation.
"We are concerned that Leonard is being targeted for unfair and possibly illegal treatment because of his viewpoint about evolution, in violation of his First Amendment rights," said Dr. John West, Associate Director of the Center for Science and Culture at Discovery Institute.
"We are further concerned that university officials may have been improperly influenced in their actions by outside Darwinist pressure groups who are trying to destroy Leonard's career because of his support for teaching scientific criticisms of Darwin's theory."
Leonard, who is a high school biology teacher as well as a graduate student, helped draft Ohio's innovative "Critical Analysis of Evolution" lesson plan adopted last year for use in schools statewide by the Ohio State Board of Education. In May of 2005, Leonard also testified in favor of new science standards being drafted in Kansas that would cover scientific criticisms of evolutionary theory.
"It looks an awful lot like Leonard is being targeted for payback," said West.
The public records request was submitted by attorney Seth Cooper, a Senior Program Analyst in Public Policy & Legal Affairs at Discovery Institute.
"We are requesting all communications to and from university officials involving Mr. Leonard's Ph.D. candidacy in order to determine if university officials have violated his rights," said Cooper. "We also want to determine the extent to which university actions may have resulted from a coordinated campaign by outside pressure groups to deprive Leonard of his academic freedom and his constitutional rights."
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Doesn't sound fair to me.
When light first came to the earth, O-ma-ma-ma the earth mother of the Cree people gave birth to the spirits of the world. The first born was Binay-sih, the thunderbird who protects the animals from the sea serpent, Genay-big. Thunderbirds shout out their unhappiness or anger with black clouds, rain and fire flashes in the sky. The second born was Ina-kaki, the lowly frog who heightens the sorcerer's powers and helps to control the insects in the world. The third born was the trickster Wee-sa-hay-jac, who can change himself into many forms or shapes to protect himself. The fourth child was Ma-heegun, Wee-sa-hay-jac's little wolf brother. They travel together with Wee-sa-hay-jac on his back. The fifth born was Amik the beaver, who is greatly respected because he is an unfortunate human from a different world. Fish, rocks, grasses, and trees all came from the womb of the great earth mother O-ma-ma-ma. The earth was inhabited a long time by only animals and spirits
Darwinism: Why I Went for a Second Ph.D. by Jonathan Wells, Moonie.
Father's words, my studies, and my prayers convinced me that I should devote my life to destroying Darwinism, just as many of my fellow Unificationists had already devoted their lives to destroying Marxism. When Father [Rev. Sun Myung Moon] chose me (along with about a dozen other seminary graduates) to enter a Ph.D. program in 1978, I welcomed the opportunity to prepare myself for battle.Icons of Evolution, by Jonathan Wells. Wells is now a Senior fellow at the Discovery Institute.
Of course, it would have to be conducted in a rigorous, disinterested manner. Maybe that's the problem here. But if not, then amazingly enough, the DI might actually have a point for once.
Even a broken clock...
The three [OSU] professors [Brian W. McEnnis, a mathematics professor, Jeffrey K. McKee, an anthropology professor, and Steve Rissing, an evolution, ecology and organismal biology professor], in their letter to Anderson, said, "We note a fundamental flaw: There are no valid scientific data challenging macroevolution. Mr. Leonard has been misinforming his students if he teaches them otherwise. His dissertation presents evidence that he has succeeded in persuading high school students to reject this fundamental principle of biology. As such, it involves deliberate miseducation of these students, a practice we regard as unethical."Source: OSU takes closer look at graduate student's dissertation
Imagine a fine outfit like the Discovery Institute trying to turn what looks like an honorable inquiry regarding academic integrity into an "academic freedom" issue. I'm shocked. Shocked!
It seemed fair to Kathy Martin
Exactly what I was thinking.
As true and as horrible as that is, Leonard was only following State Board education guidelines. Therefore their case against him, at least on grounds of ethics violations, is pretty weak.
On the other hand, they do have a point about his committee. Not have a science education specialist when that's the very subject of the thesis is suspect, to say the least.
ID vs. Academic Integrity: Gaming the System in Ohio
The Graduate School of the Ohio State University generally requires that a thesis defense be publicly announced. There's some question whether the announcement of Leonard's defense actually occurred. In any event, several members of the OSU faculty learned of Leonard's impending defense and of the composition of the committee that was to conduct the examination.
The entity that actually grants the degree Leonard is seeking is the School of Teaching and Learning in the College of Education. Within that, the Science Education Ph.D. program requires thatUpon completion of the [candidacy] examination, the student may reorganize the committee to reflect the expertise needed for the dissertation. The dissertation committee must have at least three members: two from the science education program area and one from outside the science education program area. (Italics added)Leonard's final dissertation committee did not meet those requirements. It was composed of his advisor, Paul Post from the technology education program area of the section for Math, Science and Technology; Glen R. Needham of the Department of Entomology in the College of Biological Sciences; and Robert DiSilvestro of the Department of Human Nutrition in the College of Human Ecology. For the final defense an Assistant Professor from the department of French & Italian in the College of Humanities was also assigned to the committee to monitor the procedure. Thus, there were no members from the science education program area on Leonard's final dissertation committee.
What is more noteworthy is that there are no members of Leonard's dissertation committee who are specialists in science education or in evolutionary biology, even though Leonard's dissertation is specifically directed at methods of teaching evolutionary biology in public school science classes. The two senior tenured members of the committee, DiSilvestro and Needham, in fact share a single salient qualification: they have both publicly associated themselves with the intelligent design creationist movement in Ohio and elsewhere.
The committee does seem pretty darn suspect.
Yes, except that the article points out: "Leonard, who is a high school biology teacher as well as a graduate student, helped draft Ohio's innovative "Critical Analysis of Evolution" lesson plan adopted last year for use in schools statewide by the Ohio State Board of Education."
Next you will no doubt be posting the written account of this story, the vast supporting archaeological evidence, and the eyewitness accounts of several hundred people who testify to a man who verified the truth of the story by performing miracles, including resurrecting dead people, and who himself was very publicly resurrected.
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