Joyce Howard Price, "Researcher claims bias by Smithsonian" (2005)
"The Washington Times" February 13, 2005; http://www.washingtontimes.com/national/20050213-121441-8610r.htm
Researcher claims bias by Smithsonian
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
A former editor of a scientific journal has filed a complaint against
the Smithsonian Institution, charging that he was discriminated against on
the basis of perceived religious and political beliefs because of an
article he published that challenged the Darwinian theory of
evolution.
"I was singled out for harassment and threats on
the basis that they think I'm a creationist," said Richard Sternberg, who
filed the complaint with the federal Office of Special Counsel.
Smithsonian officials deny the accusations.
"We at the Smithsonian consider religion a matter
of personal faith. The evolutionary theory is a matter of science. The two
are not incompatible," said Randall Kremer, a spokesman for the
Smithsonian's Museum of Natural History.
Mr. Sternberg, who holds two doctorates in
evolutionary biology, says he's been told by the Office of Special Counsel
that "they take my complaint seriously and are investigating." The special
counsel's office said it cannot discuss the case.
Mr. Sternberg, 41, is employed at the National
Center for Biotechnology Information, a part of the National Institutes of
Health. But as part of his duties there, he spends half of his time at the
Smithsonian as a research associate.
From December 2001 until last fall, he also served
as managing editor of an independent journal published at the Smithsonian
called the Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington.
Mr. Sternberg said his troubles started after the
appearance of the August 2004 issue of the journal, which included a
peer-reviewed article by Stephen C. Meyer. The article, titled, "The Origin
of Biological Information and the Higher Taxonomic Categories," made the
case for a theory known as intelligent design, or ID.
ID contends that the origins of some biological
forms are better explained by an unspecified intelligent agent than by
natural processes, such as natural selection and genetic mutation, which
are hallmarks of Darwinism.
In his report, Mr. Meyer, a fellow at the Discovery
Institute in Seattle, argues that ID is a more likely explanation than
evolution for the biodiversity in the Cambrian period about 530 million
years ago. He points to the "explosion" of phyla, which "suddenly appeared
within a narrow 5- to 10-million-year window of geological time" during
that period.
"To say that the fauna of the Cambrian period
appeared in a geologically sudden manner ... implies the absence of clear
transitional intermediate forms connecting Cambrian animals with simpler
pre-Cambrian forms," Mr. Meyer wrote in his defense of ID.
The report was "peer-reviewed" by three outside
scientists, Mr. Sternberg said, "but employees at the Smithsonian, who had
a sharply negative reaction to the report, insinuated that editorial
malfeasance occurred on my end. I protested vigorously."
He says he gave up his post as managing editor of
Proceedings in September but continued to be harassed by Smithsonian
officials. Mr. Sternberg says he was penalized by the museum's Department
of Zoology, which limited his access to research collections and told him
his associateship at the museum would not be renewed because no one could
be found to sponsor him for another three-year term.
Because of his shortened tenure, Mr. Sternberg says
he will not have time to complete his research on crustaceans.
He also said one zoology official told him the
museum "is not comfortable with religious fundamentalism and with
creationism, so you are being treated differently."
Mr. Sternberg also says he was "called on the
carpet" by his bosses at NIH after they were besieged by phone calls and
e-mails from Smithsonian staffers, seeking his ouster. He said one
Smithsonian official even wanted to know if he is a "right-winger."
"My lawyer called some people on Capitol Hill," who
intervened and saved his job at NIH, Mr. Sternberg said.
Mr. Kremer, the Smithsonian spokesman, denied that
Mr. Sternberg's supervisor at the museum or any other museum officials
called NIH to get him fired. He also insists Mr. Sternberg still has access
to the collections he needs for research.
"Research associates are here at our pleasure ...
but every effort was made to ensure there was no discrimination, even
though he (Mr. Sternberg) published something a lot of people didn't agree
with," Mr. Kremer said.