The creationist chair of the Texas Board of Education, which recently adopted science standards questioning evolution, has been booted from his post by the Texas senate.
A dentist by profession, Don McLeroy lobbied hard on behalf of intelligent design proponents when the board deliberated on new science standards in March. In a vote taken on the floor of the Texas senate yesterday, he received a 19-11 verdict, falling short of the two-thirds majority required for confirmation of gubernatorial appointees. Some of the senators who voted against him—all of them Democrats—criticized him for his anti-evolutionist stance.
McLeroy will remain on the 15-member board, which is currently dominated by conservatives. The rumor is that Governor Rick Perry could now nominate another board creationist, Cynthia Dunbar, to the chair’s post.
—Yudhijit Bhattacharjee
A dentist by profession, Don McLeroy lobbied hard on behalf of intelligent design proponents when the board deliberated on new science standards in March. In a vote taken on the floor of the Texas senate yesterday, he received a 19-11 verdict, falling short of the two-thirds majority required for confirmation of gubernatorial appointees. Some of the senators who voted against him—all of them Democrats—criticized him for his anti-evolutionist stance.
McLeroy will remain on the 15-member board, which is currently dominated by conservatives. The rumor is that Governor Rick Perry could now nominate another board creationist, Cynthia Dunbar, to the chair’s post.
—Yudhijit Bhattacharjee
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