Textbook Controversy

Students looking for former adjunct professor of biology Jim Sparks will not find him this year on campus.

After lodging complaints this summer to the VCU Department of Biology and university administration regarding the new Biology 101 textbook, Sylvia S. Mader’s “Essentials of Biology,” Sparks’ professorship was vacated.

But it appears the university considered his objections to the book, which concerned its handling-or lack of handling-of the origins of life and a reference the author made to the Institute for Creation Research, whose online stated mission is to “spearhead biblical creationism’s defense against the godless and compromising dogma of evolutionary humanism.”

McGraw-Hill Education has omitted the reference to the Institute from the books VCU bought, said Tom Stanton, a representative of the publishing company. Biology faculty requested the omission, he said.

Sparks contended the reference to the organization because it lacked the scientific legitimacy to merit mention in a biology textbook, he said. In the original version of the book, the Christian organization is said to promote intelligent design, which many proponents claim is a secular theory.

The book’s failure to address other hypotheses of the origins of life, mainly abiogenesis, exogenesis and evolutionary creationism-coupled with the ICR reference-suggested creationist leanings, he said. Sparks called biblical creationism a false conjecture because it states Earth is 7,000 to 10,000 years old when radiometric dating has determined Earth is actually about 4.5 billion years old.

“Our biology department is absolutely united in its commitment to teaching modern biological science.”
– Robert Holsworth

Sparks cited 12 religious colleges and universities, including Southern Virginia University, Oral Roberts University and Methodist College in North Carolina that use “Essentials of Biology” in their biology curriculum.

The origins-of-life hypotheses are prerequisites to understanding evolution, to which the book devotes three entire chapters and is mentioned in some context in six others, said Sparks, a former VCU graduate student.

He said the book omits a very important topic: “the simplest question in all of biology: how did life originate?”

Robert Holsworth, dean of the College of Humanities and Sciences, rejected Sparks’ assertions, describing them as “patently absurd.”

Holsworth called Sparks’ claim that “Essentials of Biology” was written for a religious audience a “guilt-by-association argument.” The fact that religious schools use the book attests to McGraw-Hill’s intent to create a textbook for a wide audience, secular or otherwise, he said.

The biology department adopted “Essentials of Biology” because of the assignments and supplemental material that came with it, he said, not because of its stance on creationism.

Jill Reid, a biology professor, served on the textbook-selection committee. She agreed with Holsworth’s reasoning, saying the textbook’s supplements appealed to the committee.

The book’s online study tool, the Assessment, Review, and Instruction System, especially attracted committee members, Reid said.

“This is what made it stand out above the others,” she said.

ARIS’ interactive online assignments, which professors formulate, will increase Bio 101 students’ comprehension in a course that usually consists of 200 to 300 students per class, she said. To the benefit of professors, she added, the assignments are computer-graded and -recorded. These factors make ARIS what she called a “win-win situation.”

Holsworth pointed out that Sparks served on the textbook committee and initially cast his support for the book before rebuking it. It is normal and healthy, he said, for faculty on such committees to discuss and debate the nuances of their book choices before making selections.

“There’s always the question of ‘Did you leave this out, did you leave that out?'” Holsworth said. He added that he observes daily such analysis at VCU.

Glossary of terms
abiogenesis – life can form from non-life under suitable conditions.
exogenesis – life originated from somewhere else in the universe before transferring to Earth.
evolutionary creationism – some or all religious understanding of God and creation are compatible with some or all human understanding of biological evolution.
biblical creationism – God created all organisms on Earth as explained in the Book of Genesis.
intelligent design – an intelligent designer or event best explains certain biological features.

Sparks acknowledged his original consent, saying he rubber-stamped the rest of the committee’s decision to adopt “Essentials of Biology” because he assumed it met appropriate university standards. Later in the summer, while he was preparing a syllabus for his scheduled fall Bio 101 class, he studied the book more closely, he said, and then decided the book was inadequate.

Sparks said his purpose for overturning his approval of “Essentials of Biology” was not to focus on the book’s minutiae but to ensure that non-science majors have thorough exposure to biology’s major, albeit controversial, topics.

Non-science majors impact society much more than science majors do, he said. While many science majors go on to work in laboratories and isolated research settings, he added, non-science majors tend to hold positions that require them to make important political, economic and cultural decisions. Therefore, the latter group must be as informed as possible, he said.

When sophomore Jessica Robertson discovered Sparks had first OK’d “Essentials of Biology” before protesting it, her attitude, which was originally sympathetic toward her former professor, shifted, she said.

“It changes things,” she said. “He should have done his homework and then voted for or against it.”

But professors do have freedom of expression, Robertson said.

“Professors should have every right to disagree with decisions,” she said. “They shouldn’t have fear of their jobs being terminated for voicing their opinions.”

Still, Holsworth said Sparks was not terminated. Although the details of Sparks’ employment are confidential, Holsworth said Sparks was hired on an as-needed basis and he simply was not needed any longer.

The dean said he does not mean to discredit Sparks by countering his claims, but it is his duty to protect the biology department-and VCU’s-integrity. Sparks’ criticisms could potentially damage the university’s students and faculty, Holsworth said.

Reid said that Sparks’ over-emphasis on a textbook and his neglect for the role of the professor undermines his argumentation. Although she said the origins of life is important, she continued that non-science majors can never learn all of biology’s major topics in a single-semester introductory course.

She explained that this is the reason why the biology department sought to replace the last Bio 101 textbook, George B. Johnson’s “The Living World.” It contained more details than a course could cover in one semester, and it was more expensive.

Reid described “Essentials of Biology” as an “essentials” textbook, not an “all-encompassing” one.

Senior Ryan Friedberg, Sparks’ supplemental instructor for his spring Bio 101 class, made similar points as Reid.

“Every textbook has its flaws and cannot cover all aspects of introductory biology in the depth that some may want,” he said, adding, however, that he believes “Essentials of Biology” is a poorly written book because it lacks appropriate coverage of concepts like the origins of life.

After leaving Richmond earlier this month, Sparks relocated to West Virginia, where he now works as a freelance ecologist. He said he continues to believe that a creationist influence exists in the biology department, however insisting his quarrel with VCU administration has not embittered him.

“I’m not a victim,” he said. “Sometimes there is a price to pay for doing the right thing.”