# Eugenie Scott

Eugenie Carol Scott (born October 24, 1945) is an American physical anthropologist who has been active in opposing the teaching of young Earth creationism and intelligent design in schools. She coined the term "Gish gallop" to describe a fallacious rhetorical technique of overwhelming an interlocutor with as many individually weak arguments as possible, in order to prevent rebuttal of the whole argument.
From 1986 to 2014, Scott served as the Executive Director of the National Center for Science Education, a nonprofit science education organization supporting teaching of evolutionary science. Since 2013, Scott has been listed on their advisory council.
Scott serves on the Board of Trustees of Americans United for Separation of Church and State. Scott is a member of the Board of Advisers for the publication, Scientific American. She is also a Fellow of the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry (CSI) and GWUP.

## Early life and education

Scott grew up in Wisconsin and first became interested in anthropology after reading her sister's anthropology textbook. Scott received BS and MS degrees from the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee, followed by a PhD from the University of Missouri. She joined the University of Kentucky as a physical anthropologist in 1974, and shortly thereafter attended a debate between her mentor James A. Gavan and the young Earth creationist Duane Gish, which piqued her interest in the creation–evolution controversy. She also taught at the University of Colorado and at California State University, Hayward. Her research work focused on medical anthropology, and skeletal biology.

## Career

In 1980, Scott worked to prevent creationism from being taught in the public schools of Lexington, Kentucky. Scott was appointed the executive director of the National Center for Science Education in 1987, the year in which requiring the teaching of creation science in American public schools was deemed illegal by the Supreme Court in Edwards v. Aguillard. Scott announced that she would be retiring from this position by the end of 2013, doing so on 6 January 2014. Her place was taken by Ann Reid.

### Worldview

Scott was brought up in Christian Science by her mother and grandmother but later switched to a congregational church under the influence of her sister; she describes her background as liberal Protestant. Scott is now a secular humanist and describes herself as a nontheist. In 2003, the San Francisco Chronicle reported that, "Scott describes herself as atheist but does not discount the importance of spirituality." In 2003 she was one of the signatories to the third humanist manifesto, Humanism and Its Aspirations.

### Authorship

Scott is an expert on creationism and intelligent design. Her book Evolution vs. Creationism: An Introduction was published by Greenwood Press in 2004 and then in paperback by the University of California Press in 2005. Niles Eldredge wrote the foreword in the first edition. A second edition of the book was published in 2008 and in paperback in 2009. The foreword to this edition was written by John E. Jones III, who was the presiding judge in the Kitzmiller v. Dover court case.
She co-edited with Glenn Branch the 2006 anthology Not in Our Classrooms: Why Intelligent Design is Wrong for Our Schools.
In 2006 Jon D. Miller, Scott and Shinji Okamoto had a brief article published in Science entitled "Public Acceptance of Evolution", an analysis of polling on the acceptance of evolution from the last 20 years in the United States and compared to other countries. Turkey had the lowest acceptance of evolution in the survey, with the United States having the next-lowest, though the authors saw a positive in the higher percentage of Americans who are unsure about evolution, and therefore "reachable" for evolution.

### Academic recognition

As of 2023 Scott has been the recipient of 10 honorary degrees.
Honorary Degrees :
| Year | Degree | Institution | Location |
| 2003 | Doctor of Science | McGill University | Québec, Canada |
| 2005 | Doctor of Science | Ohio State University | Columbus, OH |
| 2006 | Doctor of Science | Mount Holyoke College | South Hadley, MA |
| 2006 | Doctor of Science | University of Wisconsin | Milwaukee, WI |
| 2007 | Doctor of Science | Rutgers University | New Brunswick, NJ |
| 2008 | Doctor of Science | University of New Mexico | Albuquerque, NM |
| 2010 | Doctor of Science | University of Missouri-Columbia | Columbia, MO |
| 2010 | Doctor of Science | Colorado College | Colorado Springs, CO |
| 2013 | Honorary Doctorate | Chapman University | Orange, CA |
| 2017 | Honorary Doctorate | Transylvania University | Lexington, KY |

### Media appearances

David Berlinski, a fellow at the Discovery Institute, describes Scott as an opponent "who is often sent out to defend Darwin". Scott prefers to see herself as "Darwin's golden retriever".
Scott has been profiled in The New York Times, Scientific American, The Scientist, the San Francisco Chronicle, and the Stanford Medical Magazine. She has been interviewed for Science & Theology News, CSICOP, Church & State, and Point of Inquiry. Her commentary has been published by Science & Theology News, and Metanexus Institute.
Scott has taken part in numerous debates on MSNBC and Fox News.
In 2004, Scott represented the National Center for Science Education on the Showtime television show Penn & Teller: Bullshit!, on the episode titled "Creationism", where she offered philosophical views about the creationist and intelligent design movements.

### Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District

In 2005, Scott and other NCSE staff served as scientific and educational consultants for the plaintiffs in the Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District case regarding the teaching of intelligent design in public schools. Judge John Jones ruled in favor of the plaintiffs. Scott said that "we won decisively" and "in triplicate", and "we had the better case." About the merits of the case, she said, "Within evolutionary biology, we argue about the details... and the mechanisms," but "we don't argue about whether living things descended with modification from common ancestors, which is what biological evolution is all about.... The Dover School Board wanted students to doubt whether evolution had taken place."

### Awards

Awards and Recognition :
| Year | Award | Awarded by | Description |
| 1998 | Isaac Asimov Science Award | American Humanist Association | Given to recognize specific accomplishments that advance humanism |
| 1999 | Bruce Alberts Award for Excellence in Science Education | American Society for Cell Biology | Awarded to an individual who has demonstrated innovative and sustained contributions to science education, with particular emphasis on the broad local, regional, and/or national impact |
| 1999 | First Amendment Award | Hugh Hefner Foundation | Recognizes the efforts of an individual in defending the First Amendment |
| 2001 | Public Service Award | Geological Society of America | Presented in honor of Gene and Carolyn Shoemaker, whose scientific work and generosity in sharing it inspired and stimulated the public's curiosity about the universe around them |
| 2002 | AIBS Outstanding Service Award | American Institute of Biological Sciences | Given annually in recognition of an individual's and organization's noteworthy service to the biological sciences, especially integrative and organismal biology |
| 2002 | National Science Board Public Service Award | National Science Board | The award recognizes outstanding contributions in communicating, promoting, or helping to develop broad public policy in science and engineering (Note: The Award has since been renamed the NSB Science and Society Award) |
| 2002 | Margaret Nicholson Distinguished Service Award | California Science Teachers Association | CSTA's highest honor, the citation commemorates Scott "in recognition of your many contributions to science education, your leadership and service, and your positive impact on the quality of science teaching in California." |
| 2006 | Anthropology in the Media Award | American Anthropological Association | Honors those who have raised public awareness of anthropology and have had a broad and sustained public impact at local, national, and international levels |
| 2007 | Outstanding Educator's Award | Exploratorium Museum | Recognizing Scott's work in science education |
| 2007 | Scientific Freedom and Responsibility Award | The American Association for the Advancement of Science | Honors scientists and engineers whose exemplary actions, often taken at significant personal cost, have served to foster scientific freedom and responsibility |
| 2009 | The Stephen J Gould Prize | Society for the Study of Evolution | Recognizes "individuals whose sustained and exemplary efforts have advanced public understanding of evolutionary science and its importance in biology, education, and everyday life in the spirit of Stephen Jay Gould." |
| 2009 | The Fellows Medal | California Academy of Sciences. | Awarded in recognition of a recipient's notable contributions to one or more of the natural sciences |
| 2010 | The Public Welfare Medal | U.S. National Academy of Sciences | "For championing the teaching of evolution in the United States and for providing leadership to the National Center for Science Education." |
| 2012 | The Richard Dawkins Award | Atheist Alliance of America | Awarded to individuals it judges to have raised the public consciousness of atheism |
| 2014 | Lifetime Achievement Award | American Humanist Association | Recognizes the accomplishments and work of the individuals reflecting humanist values up to the date of the award and in concert with the prevailing humanist thought of the time |
| 2014 | James Randi Award for Skepticism in the Public Interest | James Randi Educational Foundation | Award in recognition of Scott's outstanding achievements as an advocate for scientific skepticism and her promotion of science education |
| 2018 | The Pojeta Award | Paleontological Society | The award recognizes "exceptional professional or public service by individuals or groups in the field of paleontology above and beyond that of existing formal roles or responsibilities" |
| 2019 | Fellow for the German Skeptic group | Gesellschaft zur wissenschaftlichen Untersuchung von Parawissenschaften [English translation: Society for the Scientific Investigation of Parasciences] | Given to those who uphold scientific skepticism |
| 2022 | Lifetime Achievement Award | California Freethought Day Committee | "Under her leadership, NCSE fought against 'intelligent design' and climate change denial in public schools." |

## Personal life

Scott and her husband, lawyer Thomas C. Sager, have one daughter and reside in Berkeley, California.
Scott is a backyard beekeeper with two beehives, and is interested in colony collapse disorder and an advocate of amateur beekeeping.