^{A Biology Teacher}

Caroline Crocker

_{PhD. in Immunopharmacology, University of Southampton
Instructor at George Mason University}

“It’s an infringement of academic freedom,” Crocker told Nature, speaking about the university’s decision that she not be allowed to present intelligent design or criticisms of evolution. “My goal is to teach students to think for themselves.”

Reassigned, Shown the Door

Dr. Caroline Crocker taught second-year cell biology at George Mason University, and received exceptional student reviews. As part of the unit on evolution, she usually brought up intelligent design and criticisms of evolutionary theory.

At the end of the fall semester in 2004, her supervisor told her she would be suspended from teaching that class and reassigned to labs due to her presentation of intelligent design. Crocker had not even covered the unit on evolution (or mentioned intelligent design) that semester due to time constraints.

Crocker made clear to her supervisor that she would not teach intelligent design again — but he refused to rescind his decision. When her contract expired in 2005, George Mason did not renew it.

Backstory

^{November 2005}

Profile: Intelligent Design and Academic Freedom (Transcript)

_{November 2005}

Answering a question on All Things Considered, Caroline answers: “So is it OK to question evolution? Well, let me tell you from personal experience, people lose their jobs for doing it. So is it OK? Yes. Is it safe? No.”

^{June 2008}

Intellectual Freedom Must Include Conservative Professors, Scientists

_{June 2008}

Academic freedom. Intellectual diversity. Who would deny that these are essential in education of students in a country built on freedom? After all, permission to consider more than one option is part of what has given America her competitive edge in the international marketplace of ideas.

^{September 2009}

“Expelled Exposed” Exposed: Your One-Stop Rebuttal to Attacks on the Documentary Expelled

_{September 2009}

Caroline Crocker wrote her own direct rebuttal correcting various false claims about herself in “Expelled Exposed,” “Reply to Expelled Exposed.” Crocker points out that “Expelled Exposed” fails to understand that “calling scientific arguments ‘creationist’ does not address the validity of the arguments.”

^{July 2010}

Free to Think: Caroline Crocker’s New Book Tells Story of Discrimination Against Intelligent Design

_{July 2010}

Caroline Crocker was ousted from teaching biology because she covered challenges to neo-Darwinian evolution and favorably mentioned ID in the classroom. Dr. Crocker later appeared in Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed, but now many more details about Caroline Crocker’s story are revealed in her new autobiographical book.