NCSE Supporter Francisco Ayala was interviewed about evolution and creationism for the August 2008 issue of HHMI Bulletin (pages 38-39), published by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. Responding to a question about whether the controversy ended with the decision in Kitzmiller v. Dover, he explained, "Creationism is still a live issue in Florida, Kansas, Louisiana, Alabama, Michigan, and Missouri -- other places." Noting that opposition to evolution is typically motivated by religion, he insisted that nevertheless, "One can accept scientific principles and also hold religious beliefs." And he urged that "[t]he only way to deal with the problem is education and specifically science education, which is unfortunately lacking, by and large, and not only in this country."
A Supporter of NCSE since its founding, Ayala is University Professor, the Donald Bren Professor of Biological Sciences, and Professor of Philosophy at the University of California, Irvine. Among his contributions to the defense of the integrity of science education are his testimony for the plaintiffs in the challenge to Arkansas's 1981 "Balanced Treatment for Creation-Science and Evolution-Science Act" (McLean v. Arkansas) and his lead authorship of the recent publication from the National Academy of Sciences and the Institute of Medicine, Science, Evolution, and Creationism (National Academies Press, 2008). His latest book is Darwin's Gift: To Science and Religion (Joseph Henry Press, 2007).