ICR Seeks Degree-Granting Status in Texas
The Institute for Creation Research has applied for certification to grant graduate degrees in the state of Texas, through their “Henry M. Morris Center for Christian Leadership” in Dallas, Texas.
INSTITUTE FOR CREATION RESEARCH, DALLAS
RECOMMENDATION: Pending Certification Advisory Council recommendation
Background Information:
The Institute for Creation Research (ICR) is a private, not-for-profit corporation, registered in the states of California and Texas for the purposes of research, writing, and education in both the standard curriculum of each scientific discipline and the Institute’s supplemental framework of scientific creationism and biblical authority in all disciplines. The ICR Graduate School program provides graduate-level training in science education through an online environment, with minors in the natural sciences that are particularly relevant to the study of origins.
An on-site evaluation was conducted at ICR on November 8, 2007. The Board’s Certification Advisory Council will review the evaluation team’s report, and ICR’s response to the evaluation on December 14, 2007. The Commissioner will forward their recommendation to the Board with his endorsement or with his substitute recommendation.
I’m not sure what standards Texas has for certifying a graduate program in science education, but that application raises all sorts of flags for me.
Further information: California has been down this road already. A series of articles by William Bennetta documents some of what happened there: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10.
Gee, maybe we can all get internet PhDs in ID that way! (The answer to the final exam is goddidit.)
Seriously, though, this smacks of collusion between the ICR and the Texas State Board of Education headed by ID advocate and DI puppet Dr. Don McLeroy. McLeroy is in a position to grease the skids for this kind of thing and further damage Texas’ educational system. (see the Chris Comer affair.) In fact, McLeroy’s being appointed the head of the SBoE by Rick Perry and the ICR moving to Texas are suspiciously coincidental.
As Steven Schafersman, President of Texas Citizens for Science pointed out in a recent txnews newsletter:
“ICR has a Graduate School that granted M.S. degrees in Creation Science with various specialties: biology, geology, etc. The school was accredited by several Bible College accrediting agencies. The degrees were worthless, but students who had them were able to use them to become
science teachers in public schools.”
The only “science” the ICR deals in is religious pseudo-science. Even the leading advocate of Intelligent Design, professor Michael Behe, testified in Federal Court that if the creation science called Intelligent Design were classified as science then astrology should also be allowed to be called science. What a joke.
Creation science is neither appropriate material for public school science teacher credentials nor for public school science classes.