The National Center for Science Education is hiring a Climate Change Programs and Policy Director:
NCSE seeks candidates for our Climate Change Programs and Policy Director.
The Climate Change Programs and Policy Director's duties will include:
* counseling teachers, administrators, parents, and other concerned citizens facing challenges to climate change education;
* providing information on climate change, climate literacy, and related issues to the general public, the press, and allied educational, scientific, and environmental organizations;
* developing materials pertaining to climate change education for print and web;
* speaking to the press and general public
* representing NCSE to the climate science, climate literacy, and environmental education communities;
* coordinating with policymakers, advocacy groups, educators, and scientists regarding policies which could harm or benefit accurate climate science education.Candidates must have at least a college degree; advanced degrees in climate science or climate science education are pluses. A record of involvement in climate literacy efforts, and of addressing attacks on the scientific consensus about climate change, is also a plus. Excellent communication skills, both written and oral, are necessary, as are a high degree of computer literacy (including the use of social media) and the ability to work cooperatively. Travel and public speaking will be required.
This is a full-time permanent position with medical, dental, and retirement benefits in Oakland, California, to start as soon as possible. Telecommuting is not an option. Salary will be commensurate with skills and experience and comparable with similar positions in similarly sized non-profits in the Bay Area.
Send c.v., brief writing sample, and the names of three references to NCSE, either by mail to NCSE, 420 40th Street, Suite 2, Oakland CA 94609-2509, by fax to (510) 601-7204, or by e-mail to climate@ncse.com. No calls, please. Materials must arrive by August 15, to be considered. Anticipated start date is mid-September. NCSE is an equal opportunity employer.
Please spread the word to qualified candidates. We're excited about this.
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I heard Glen Beck will soon be available.
Mission creep is a constant danger to advocacy organizations.
This mission creep as the previous commenter called it is almost never a good idea. There needs to be a separate and independent organization for climate science. NCSE is dedicated to evolution/creationism issues especially in the context of education. That is all it should be. Indeed there is far more to do on its core issue than it can possibly do even if it had ten times the funding and manpower.
An independent organization dedicated strictly to climate-change issues could do a better job than the NCSE could do for it. And the NCSE could do better job with evolution issues than any climate-change group could.
Those who want to be a broad-spectrum anti-loon fighters might consider the Skeptic Society or the policy arm of some general science organization.
I don't see this as mission creep. It is science education that is at issue. Likewise combating antivaccination would be within the NCSE's purview IMO.
Climate change is not a science. It is a new religion.
Wonderful news. And yeah, antivax would be a good addition, too. But the war on climate science is actually a bigger deal right now than the war on evolution, even in terms of science education.
I agree that mission creep is a concern, and this isn't a step NCSE took lightly. The reason I don't think this is mission creep, but is an extension of NCSE's existing work, is that attacks on climate change in science classes are attacks on science education, and on the nature of science. NCSE won't start advocating for climate policy, and will urge a separation of science education from policy discussion as NCSE has always urged separating science education from religious discussion. But misconceptions about what science is, how it works, and what the professionals in the field have learned about science, are similar in the evolution and climate realms, and NCSEs long history tracking and addressing those issues around evolution seems like a natural extension into climate. Indeed, many of the anti-evolution laws NCSE tracks these days also single out evolution, and climate change deniers often borrow the "fact not theory" rhetoric, and demands for "equal time," "balance," "critical analysis," etc., which have characterized anti-evolution rhetoric for so long. This isn't mission creep, it's the only way to continue the advocacy work NCSE does so well.
Antivaxx is an interesting topic, but to date, I'm not aware of antivaxxers trying to influence lesson plans in science class. Their attacks on school health policies are a concern, but addressing those sorts of issues would definitely constitute mission creep.
As always, I'm not speaking on NCSE's behalf here on the blog, and a more formal announcement with details of what this project will entail will surely come through official channels in time.