Rosina M. Bierbaum, dean of the University of Michigan School of Natural Resources and Environment, heralded President Obama's decision this week to "restore scientific integrity in government decision making."
President Obama signed a Presidential Memorandum Monday directing the federal Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) to "ensure the highest level of integrity in all aspects of the executive branch's involvement with scientific and technological issues."Dean Bierbaum served as the Senate-confirmed director for Environment at OSTP during the Clinton Administration and as Acting Director of the agency into the first months of the Bush administration.
"Today, more than ever before, science holds the key to our survival as a planet and our security and prosperity as a nation," President Obama said. "It's time we once again put science at the top of our agenda and worked to restore America's place as the world leader in science and technology."
The Bush administration has been criticized for its handling of scientists, political approach to scientific issues and decisions to allow industry excessive influence in policy-making, particularly on environmental issues. Dean Bierbaum was one of three scientists that an industry group lobbied to have removed in the early months of the Bush administration - because of her leadership on the issue of climate change.
Dean Bierbaum, who spent 20 years in public service at the federal level, was named by the Obama transition office this fall to serve on the Agency Review Team for OSTP. The team provided direction to the administration on a range of issues, including the restoration of science integrity and best to achieve that goal.
"This has been a historic week for American scientists," said Dean Bierbaum, who is on a year-long leave of absence from SNRE to direct The World Bank's influential World Development Report. "Scientists play a key role in every aspect of American economic and social development, and their work should always be shared and debated openly without political interference or consideration."
The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) echoed her remarks in a letter this week to President Obama. "Your comments about substituting science for ideology as the starting point for policymaking is to us exactly the right approach," said Alan I. Lesher, chief executive officer and executive publisher of the journal Science. Dean Bierbaum has previously served on the board of directors of Washington-based AAAS.
Under the Presidential Memorandum, the director of OSTP - the Obama Administration's nominee is John Holdren - must develop a strategy over the next four months that ensures:
- the selection of scientists and technology professionals for science and technology positions in the executive branch is based on those individuals' scientific and technological knowledge, credentials, and experience;
- agencies make available to the public the scientific or technological findings or conclusions considered or relied upon in policy decisions;
- agencies use scientific and technological information that has been subject to well-established scientific processes such as peer review; and
- agencies have appropriate rules and procedures to ensure the integrity of the scientific process within the agency, including whistleblower protection.
Dean Bierbaum watched from the second row Monday as President Obama signed the Integrity of Science Presidential Memorandum during a White House Ceremony. Moments earlier, he had signed an Executive Order lifting the federal government's ban on federal funding for embryonic stem cell research.
"The potential for stem cells to offer cures for very debilitating diseases is great. Lifting the ban on existing cell lines greatly enhances the chances that this research will leap forward quickly," Dean Bierbaum told The Detroit News this week.
On Wednesday, Dean Bierbaum was back in the White House as a participant in a signing ceremony for the creation of the White House Council on Women and Girls. The council will be chaired by Senior Advisor Valerie Jarrett and made up of cabinet secretaries and other top White House staff. Dean Bierbaum was invited by the White House as a science role model to young women.
"It was truly a great honor, and I look forward to helping the council promote careers in science to young American women," Dean Bierbaum said.
The council began its work by asking each federal agency to analyze their current status and ensure that they are focused internally and externally on women. During its first year, the Council will also focus on formulating comprehensive, coordinated policies in a number of areas, including:
- Improving women's economic security by ensuring that each of the agencies is working to directly improve the economic status of women.
- Working with each agency to ensure that the administration evaluates and develops policies that establish a balance between work and family.
- Working hand-in-hand with the Vice President, the Justice Department's Office of Violence Against Women and other government officials to find new ways to prevent violence against women, at home and abroad.
Related links:
The White House blog: Stem Cell
http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/09/03/09/A-debt-of-gratitude-to-so-many-t...
White House press release: Signing of Stem Cell Executive Order and Scientific Integrity Presidential Memorandum
http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/Remarks-of-the-President-As-P...
Video of Stem Cell signing ceremony (MSNBC.com link):
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/29598211#29598338
U-M press release: U-M launches new embryonic stem cell research consortium
http://www.ns.umich.edu/htdocs/releases/story.php?id=7030
U-M video: U-M launches stem cell center
http://www.ns.umich.edu/podcast/video.php?id=774
The White House blog: Council for Women and Girls
http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/09/03/11/Opportunities-their-mothers-and-...
White House press release: President Obama Announces White House Council on Women and Girls
http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/President-Obama-Announces-Whi...