As Alabama and federal lawmakers work to restore trust in science and academia, faculty from at least two Alabama universities — University of Alabama at Birmingham and Auburn University — are pushing back against their efforts, comparing them to "state-sponsored programs in Nazi Germany."
Faculty members signed a letter "affirming our continued pledge to rigorous science, as defined by our field, not the White House." The "scientists" complained that the Trump administration "defunded areas of research they do not agree with, pushed vaccine misinformation despite widespread evidence, lied about the impacts of climate change, and incorrectly defined sex determination as binary, when biology proves it is not."
The open letter hosted on a website that encourages progressive scientists to "Stand up for Science" stated, "History illustrates, in no uncertain terms, the danger of state-dictated 'scientific truths'. The anti-scientific interpretations of genetics by Lysenko in the Soviet Union resulted in famine that killed millions. State-sponsored programs in Nazi Germany based on the 'science' of eugenics led to the genocide of millions of Jews, people with disabilities, and people identifying as LGBTQ+ who were deemed to have 'life unworthy of life.'"
In late May, President Donald Trump signed an executive order, "Restoring Gold Standard Science," in which he pointed out that, "Over the last 5 years, confidence that scientists act in the best interests of the public has fallen significantly. A majority of researchers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics believe science is facing a reproducibility crisis. The falsification of data by leading researchers has led to high-profile retractions of federally funded research."
"We view this Executive Order as an escalation of the ongoing assault on science," the letter stated. "Throughout the document, scientific language is hijacked, and ideas are turned on their heads."
What are they opposed to? Trump's executive order lays out his goals:
Gold Standard Science means science conducted in a manner that is:
(i) reproducible;
(ii) transparent;
(iii) communicative of error and uncertainty;
(iv) collaborative and interdisciplinary;
(v) skeptical of its findings and assumptions;
(vi) structured for falsifiability of hypotheses;
(vii) subject to unbiased peer review;
(viii) accepting of negative results as positive outcomes; and
(ix) without conflicts of interest.
Thousands of individuals signed their names without indicating their employer affiliation. Among those who signed from Alabama are:
- Dr. Karen Gamble, University of Alabama at Birmingham
- Jayne Ness, M.D., Ph.D., University of Alabama at Birmingham
- Marla Hertz, University of Alabama at Birmingham
- Tori Holland, University of Alabama at Birmingham
- Peter Prevelige, University of Alabama at Birmingham, signed without including UAB's name
- Mariann Schmitz signed UAB, but notes that she's "retired"
- Dr. Anne Turner-Henson, Retired UAB School Of Nursing
- Dr. Gabrielle Pfund, Auburn University
- Nicole Roberts, coordinator, East Alabama Health was the only other signer who identified themselves as being from Alabama
Open Letter in Support of Science to President Trump, his administration, Members of Congress, and the American People.
On the evening of Friday, May 23rd, 2025, The White House released an Executive Order called Restoring Gold Standard Science. At face value, this order outlines a supposed commitment to federally funded research that is “transparent, rigorous, and impactful” and declares that policy is to be informed by “the most credible, reliable, and impartial scientific evidence available.” However the EO as written will actually undermine scientific rigor and the transparent progress of science. As scientists, we are committed to a discipline that is decentralized and self-scrutinizing. Instead this administration mandates a centralized system serving the political beliefs of the President and the whims of those in power.
We view this Executive Order as an escalation of the ongoing assault on science. The first six sections employ common scientific language to spell out a “gold standard” for science that would not strengthen science, but instead would introduce stifling limits on intellectual freedom in our Nation’s laboratories and federal funding agencies. Notably, the order comes from an administration that has already defunded areas of research they do not agree with,pushed vaccine misinformation despite widespread evidence, lied about the impacts of climate change, and incorrectly defined sex determination as binary, when biology proves it is not, in their own Executive Order. Throughout the document, scientific language is hijacked, and ideas are turned on their heads. Section 7 outlines the selection of a “senior appointee designated” by the head of the every agency to “evaluate alleged violations” of the “Gold Standard Science” edict. This will be the “sole and exclusive means of evaluating and …addressing alleged violations” overseeing the “use, interpretation and communication of scientific information.”
We see through this bad faith appropriation of scientific language and principles.
The Executive Order further consolidates political control over the Nation's scientific infrastructure, co-opting the language of open science to implement a system under which direct presidential appointees are given broad latitude to designate many common and important scientific activities as scientific misconduct, and to penalize those involved accordingly.
History illustrates, in no uncertain terms, the danger of state-dictated 'scientific truths'. The anti-scientific interpretations of genetics by Lysenko in the Soviet Union resulted in famine that killed millions. State-sponsored programs in Nazi Germany based on the “science” of eugenics led to the genocide of millions of Jews, people with disabilities, and people identifying as LGBTQ+ who were deemed to have “life unworthy of life.”
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