Three Texans Win The "Friends Of Darwin" Award For Their Battles Here

The National Center for Science Education, an organization that tries to convince people that evolution is correct (and, we guess, that the earth is round), has named three Texans as winners of their annual “Friend of Darwin” award.

The NCSE didn’t stint on the drama in making their announcement:

They came from Texas. Big, brawny men, with big, brawny brains. They had
a mission: To make evolution education safe for kids throughout the
Republic of Texas.

These three men — David Hillis, Gerald Skoog and Ron Wetherington — stood
tall for evolution!

You can almost hear the Enrico Morricone music, with tight close-ups as they get set to battle the Intelligent Design gang….

The NCSE’s Robert Luhn tells Hair Balls it’s only the second time in the award’s 16-year history that a Texan has been honored (much less three).

Here’s what Eugene Scott, NCSE executive director, had to say about each of the three winners:

Of Scott, a UT biology professor: “David has inspired countless teachers about the importance of teaching evolution. When we anticipated problems with the Texas board of education’s adoption of high school biology textbooks in the early 2000s, we turned to David. He was brilliant in his response then, and in the most recent battles in Texas in the rewriting of the science education standards.”

Of Skoog, from Texas Tech: “Dr. Skoog’s lifelong scholarship in evolution education
has had a huge impact for 40 years. He literally wrote the book on the
coverage of evolution in textbooks. We all depend on Gerry for his
scholarship. And he has served NCSE in very important ways–when we’ve
needed help, especially in Texas, he’s always been there for us. He’s
been a wonderful ally and leader in the field of evolution education.”

Finally, Wetherington of SMU: “Ron is second to none when it comes to the time,
energy, skill, and enthusiasm he’s brought to the battle over Texas
science standards. His honesty and his ability to earn the trust of
school board members has paid huge dividends in the struggle for good
science education standards in Texas. We owe him a lot.”