MOORE, Randy 1954-

(Randall C. Moore, Randall Charles Moore)

PERSONAL: Born July 21, 1954, in Columbus, TX; son of Doyle Liles and Tillie Mae (Spross) Moore; married Kris Collum, May 20, 1989. Education: Texas A&M University, B.S. (biology); University of Georgia, M.S. (botany), 1977; University of California, Los Angeles, Ph.D. (biology), 1980. Hobbies and other interests: Running, playing music, movies, reading, comedy.

ADDRESSES: Office—General College, University of Minnesota, 376 Appleby Hall, 128 Pleasant St. SE, Minneapolis, MN 55455. E-mail—moore@umn.edu.

CAREER: University of California, Los Angeles, teaching assistant, 1975–77; Baylor University, Waco, TX, assistant professor, 1980–83, associate professor, 1983–88; Wright State University, Dayton, OH, professor and chair of biology department, 1988–93, from assistant dean to associate dean of College of Science and Mathematics, 1990–93; Buchtell College of Arts and Sciences, University of Akron, Akron, OH, professor of biology and dean, beginning 1993; General College, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, professor, 2000–. Corresponding professor, Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile, Santiago, 1986; science teacher for Trotwood Madison School District, beginning 1990.

MEMBER: American Association for the Advancement of Science, American Society of Plant Physiologists, Botanical Society of America.

AWARDS, HONORS: Fulbright scholarship, 1988; named Most Outstanding Professor, Baylor University, 1986; named Most Outstanding Professor, Wright State University, 1993; National Science Foundation grant, 1990; NASA grant, 1991; Teacher Exemplar award, Society of College Science Teachers, 1993.

WRITINGS:

(Editor) Vegetative Compatibility Responses in Plants, Baylor University Press (Waco, TX), 1983.

(With Darrell S. Vodopich) The Living Desert (for children; "Living World" series), Enslow Publishers (Hillside, NJ), 1991.

Soil Survey of Pike National Forest, Eastern Part, Colorado, Parts of Douglas, El Paso, Jefferson, and Teller Counties, U.S. Forest Service, U.S. Conservation Service (Washington, DC), 1992.

Writing to Learn Biology, Saunders College (Fort Worth, TX), 1992.

(With others) Botany, William C. Brown (Dubuque, IA), 1995, second edition, WCB/McGraw-Hill (New York, NY), 1998.

Classic and Modern Readings in Biology, Saunders College (Philadelphia, PA), 1996.

Writing to Learn Science, Saunders College (Fort Worth, TX), 1997.

(With Gordon Uno and Richard Storey) Principles of Botany, McGraw-Hill (Boston, MA), 2001.

Evolution in the Courtroom: A Reference Guide, ABC-Clio (Santa Barbara, CA), 2002.

Contributor, as Randall C. Moore, to "Life" series by Ricki Lewis, including Beginnings of Life, Animal Life, Plant Life, Evolution of Life, and Behavior and Ecol-ogy of Life, William C. Brown Publishers (Dubuque, IA), 1992. Contributor to SciWrite. Editor of American Biology Teacher, beginning 1983; editorial board member for journals, including Journal of College Science Teaching, Issues in Writing, and Journal of Biological Education.

SIDELIGHTS: Randy Moore is a biologist and teacher who has published a number of books on a range of subjects, including, with Darrell S. Vodopich, The Living Desert, a book for young readers. In addition to penning several academic works on biology and botany, Moore's interest in the controversy between those who wish to teach evolution and those who want creationism or "intelligent design," taught in the classroom has led to his book Evolution in the Courtroom: A Reference Guide.

With The Living Desert Moore and Vodopich provide general information, as well as facts specific to particular deserts, about topography, precipitation, temperatures, animals, and plants. They also include a discussion of ecological problems that impact the world's deserts. School Library Journal reviewer Renee Blumenkrantz wrote that "the text is well written and logically organized," but found fault with the black-and-white drawings and photographs, which she felt did not adequately depict the natural beauty of these arid regions.

Among the textbooks Moore has worked on is Principles of Botany, a collaborative effort with Gordon Uno and Richard Storey. Geeta Bharathan and Veronica Vidal, writing in the Quarterly Review of Biology, deemed it to be "suitable for an introductory level," based on the detail provided on the topics covered. The reviewers praised the illustrations and their explanations, as well as chapter summaries and thought-provoking questions. In particular, the critics felt the companion Web site, with its glossary and links to relevant information and organizations, is "a nice feature of the book."

As noted by Tom Lonergan in an article for the University of Minnesota Access Web site, "Moore's specialty is evolution, the science-based theory that the earth's present-day species developed from earlier, distinctly different species." When the state of Minnesota scrapped its Profile of Learning standards for K-12 schools in 2003, Moore was often sought out by the media that covered the "evolution versus creationism" debate that was raised in the drafting of new science standards. His developing expertise on the subject eventually led to Evolution in the Courtroom. Here, Moore explains the debate that has continued in the courtroom, including four famous trials. The most well-known was the 1925 case State of Tennessee v. John H. Scopes, more familiar as the Scopes Monkey Trial, which was held in Dayton, Tennessee. It was a landmark trial that was the first step in guaranteeing the right to teach evolution in the classroom. Moore also profiles people important to the evolution/creationism controversy and provides a chronology of events in the controversy's history. Steven Puro noted in Library Journal that Moore's "overview could be the starting point for further investigation of the legal issues underlying these battles."

Moore was a consultant to the State of Ohio's Board of Education in 2002, when it revised its science standards, and he addressed the National Association of Biology Teachers in that state the same year. He emphasized that biology teachers will teach based on their own beliefs, no matter what the standards and regardless of scientific evidence. Moore reached this conclusion based on his interviews of 160 biology teachers as well as other similar studies. David J. Hoff and Karen Diegmueller, who covered the meeting for Education Week, noted that "a survey of biology teachers in Pennsylvania—a state lauded by scientists for the accuracy and depth of evolution in its standards—revealed that about 33 percent of those teachers 'do not believe that evolution is central to biology.'" Studies showed that in Louisiana, approximately one third of teachers want to include creationism in science classes, and about half of that number incorporate the biblical story of the beginnings of life.

Referring to Minnesota's science standards, Moore told Lonergan that "debate over religious beliefs belongs in a philosophy or a religious theory class, not in a science class." He added, "Science teachers should teach science. That's what we do. These standards will let us do that. The citizens and students will benefit. We don't want to teach religion or the supernatural."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Appraisal: Science Books for Young People, autumn, 1991, Kathryn L. Harvis, review of The Living Desert, pp. 91-92.

Education Week, November 13, 2002, David J. Hoff and Karen Diegmueller, "Evolution Standards and Practice Don't Mesh," p. 10.

Library Journal, April 1, 2002, Steven Puro, review of Evolution in the Courtroom: A Reference Guide, p. 125.

Quarterly Review of Biology, March, 2002, Geeta Bharathan and Veronica Vidal, review of Principles of Botany, p. 66.

School Library Journal, June, 1991, Renee Blumenkrantz, review of The Living Desert, p. 118.

Voice of Youth Advocates, October, 1991, Barbara Flottmeier, review of The Living Desert, p. 265.

ONLINE

Access Web site (University of Minnesota), http://www.gen.umn.edu/ (December 20, 2005), Tom Lonergan, "Science Standards"; "Randy Moore."