Last week, Chris Mooney described how the Washington Times and a cadre of right-wing bloggers have been fearmongering about John Holdren, President Obama’s science adviser and Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy. Now FoxNews has jumped on [...]
SCIENCE, CULTURED
Conservatives have found another ludicrous charge to hurl against the president’s science adviser.
John Holdren, director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy, was nominated in the middle of December, but only confirmed by the senate three weeks ago. In the past, he has spoken in earnest about the importance of scientists [...]
Academics and science policy wonks did a double-take last spring when Rick Weiss took early retirement from a wildly successful, award-winning career at The Washington Post to join the Center for American Progress as a senior fellow and columnist for [...]
Good news came yesterday evening as the Senate confirmed John Holdren as director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy and Jane Lubchenco as head of National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Despite several previous holds on the [...]
Juliet Eilperin reports that Senator Robert Menendez (D-NJ) has placed a hold on votes to approve John Holdren’s appointment as director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy and Jane Lubchenco’s appointment as leader of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Despite [...]
SCIENCE LEADERSHIP
The science community wants John Holdren’s expected confirmation to the Office of Science and Technology Policy to be followed by his elevation into Obama’s cabinet.
The National Academies’ highest award, the Public Welfare Medal, will go this year to Neal Lane. The medal honors the “extraordinary use of science for public good.” Lane is the Malcolm Gillis University Professor and Senior Fellow at the James [...]
SCIENCE, CULTURED
Despite the inauguration of a new administration, conservatives have left a damaged scientific system and an archaic way of thinking about science policy. The outgoing policymakers cannot rewrite history for their own purposes.
SCIENCE POLICY
The seven science advisers Barack Obama has chosen are surely the most distinguished group of scientists at the highest levels of government in decades.
Eli Kintisch reports at Science Insider that the Kennedy School of Government professor flew to Chicago this morning to meet with members of the transition team.
In Washington, D.C. access is influence, and as we’ve argued several times here on Science Progress, in order to drive progressive science and tech policy across the entire federal government, the next science adviser to the president must be at the top level of the White House staff. And few would know better the importance of the science adviser holding cabinet-level rank than the last person to serve in the position at that status, Neal Lane.
SCIENCE, CULTURED
It’s critical that we see the science adviser rollout given a degree of prominence similar to other top-level nominations. In our next government, science can’t just be an afterthought.
WEISS’S NOTEBOOK
The Washington rumor mill is buzzing with names of possible science appointees—and there are dozens of major science-related positions to fill. The questions appointees will face are an opportunity for a clear break with past approaches.
The AAU recommendations straddle the sciences and the humanities, but the item at the top of the group’s list is the very same as the top recommendation from the National Academy of Sciences: elevate the role of the president’s science adviser to a cabinet-level position, and appoint a highly qualified person to that position quickly.
SCIENCE, CULTURED
For eight years running, the National Academy of Sciences has offered public advice on scientific appointments for the next administration and seen its advice largely ignored. This year, the tone is different, and it’s time to pay attention.
The National Academies have just offered a report detailing the most critical presidential science appointments in the executive branch and ways to streamline the process of getting new hires into their posts. Their first recommendation, however, is to hire the top science adviser at the level of assistant to the president.
Science Progress and American Progress's Doing What Works project teamed up to produce a set of policy proposals that the Obama administration and Congress can adopt to reinvest in the building blocks of American science, innovation, and economic competitiveness. Read the overview of the five reports.
Science Progress proceeds from the propositions that scientific inquiry is among the finest expressions of human excellence, that it is a crucial source of human flourishing, a critical engine of economic growth, and must be dedicated to the common good. Scientific inquiry entails global responsibilities. It should lead to a more equitable, safer, and healthier future for all of humankind.