2020 Pennsylvania Ave., NW
Washington, DC 20006
202-546-0054
ChristianNewswire.com
One Penn Plaza, Suite 6202
New York, NY 10119
212-290-1585
StandardNewswire.com
One Penn Plaza, Suite 6202
New York, NY 10119
212-290-1585
CatholicWireService.com
Religion Newswire
2020 Penn. Ave., NW, Suite CCN
Washington, DC 20006
202-546-0054
2020 Pennsylvania Ave., NW
Washington, DC 20006 U.S.A.
Contact: Lawrence Ford, Institute for Creation Research (ICRGS), 800-337-0375
DALLAS, May 2 /Christian
Newswire/ -- Administration officials at the Graduate School of the
Institute for Creation Research (ICRGS), a California-based institution, have
released documents pertaining to its application to grant degrees in the state
of Texas where it has sought to move its academic offices.
On March 26, 2008, the ICRGS submitted documents to the Texas Higher Education
Coordinating Board (THECB) in Austin, Texas in response to a request to provide
institutional documentation that describes the Master of Science in Science
Education program offered by the school.
On April 24, 2008, THECB Commissioner Raymund Paredes and his board voted to
deny the ICRGS authority to grant the M.S. degree in Science Education. Dr.
Paredes read into the record his recommendation at a committee meeting the day
before, expressing his belief that the ICRGS promoted a viewpoint different from
perceived science standards in the state, based on his non-public consultations
with yet-to-be-identified science educators.
Because of the choice of the THECB to withhold from the public the ICRGS
documents—documents that demonstrate that the ICRGS does indeed meet and, in
some cases, exceeds state educational standards—the ICRGS is making the entire
document available to the public.
It will become clear to careful readers 1) that the ICRGS M.S. program is both a
demanding and rigorous academic offering to Texas students desiring to be
equipped in major disciplines of science and in the practical aspects of
teaching science to others, and 2) that the THECB, and its advisers, failed to
properly evaluate the ICRGS program based on educational and academic standards,
as expressed in the documents, preferring rather to penalize the ICRGS program
because of differences in viewpoint regarding how and why ICRGS teaches science
and science education.
The importance of ICRGS' institutional viewpoint of creationism, as an example
of academic freedom, was explained at the April 23 committee meeting by Dr. Eddy
Miller, Dean and Chief Academic Officer of the ICRGS, who flew from California
with other faculty members to attend and participate in the THECB proceedings.
Because of the decision by THECB Commissioner Raymund Paredes and the THECB
Board, the state of Texas is denying a full-range of educational offerings to
Texas residents in the area of science education, and in doing so, is failing to
"close the gaps" in higher education.
The
institutional documents released by the ICRGS are available on the
institute's website.