Texas Legislature honors Skoog

The Texas Legislature honored Texas Tech professor Gerald Skoog this month after his induction into the Texas Science Hall of Fame at Brooks Air Force in San Antonio in January 2000.
Texas State Rep. Ruth McClendon, D-San Antonio, and State Sen. David Cain, D-Dallas, sponsored the recognition of each member's achievement.
Skoog also was among the first inductees into the hall, where two organizations and 14 individuals also were honored. The honorees included astronauts, Nobel laureates and various educators.
On Jan. 22-23, 2001, Skoog went to the Texas Science Summit in San Antonio where he attended meetings and introduced Dr. "Red" Duke, a noted surgeon from the University of Texas Medical Center at Houston, as a new inductee into the Texas Science Hall of Fame.
He received the title as Paul Whitfield Horn Professor in 2000 and Tech's College of Education honored him in 1997 when he received the title of Helen DeVitt Jones Professor, which recognizes outstanding teachers of education.
In addition to teaching, he was president of the National Science Teacher Association, the largest science teacher group in the nation, from 1985-1986.
He was president of the Science Teachers Association of Texas from 1974-1975.
Skoog also received a citation from the National Science Teacher Association for distinguished service to science education.
"He brings a lot of prestigious to the college with his work," said Greg Bowes, dean of the College of Education.
While pursuing undergraduate and doctorate degree from the University of Nebraska at Lincoln, Skoog said he became interested in evolution.
During his teaching career at a public high school in Nebraska, he taught biology and read articles in the library about evolution. At that time, people believed evolution was not being taught in schools.
He reviewed textbooks from the 1900s to the 1960s to see how evolution was taught as well as other aspects of the subject.
"Science is not believe it or not," Skoog said. "Science is based on observations and facts. The scientific evidence for evolution is overwhelming."
He said many people are too slow to recognize that fact.

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