My research focuses on how evolution is taught, learned, used, and accepted. The work supports my teaching and involves students as colleagues and coauthors. Examples of current projects include 1) how evolution is taught in Galápagos (with Sehoya Cotner), 2) measuring the impact of Minnesota’s William Bell Riley in starting America’s anti-evolution movement (with Andrew Hughes), 3) constructing a field-guide to the Scopes Trial (with Jacquelyn Cameron), and 4) understanding how creationists have used their two public icons – that is, dinosaurs and the Grand Canyon – to try to appear “scientific.”

Moore, Randy and Tom Davis. 2024. Causes Go On Forever: A Chronology of the Scopes Trial. Dayton, TN: Rhea County Historical Society.

Moore, Randy. 2023. John Thomas Scopes: A Biography. New York: Bloomsbury Academic. 

Moore, Randy and Susan E. Brooks. 2023. The Scopes Trial: An Encyclopedic History. Jefferson, NC: McFarland Publishers. - Winner of the 2024 American Library Association's RUSA, "the highest award honoring academic reference books or media."

Moore, Randy. 2023. The Scopes "Monkey Trial" -- America's Most Famous Trial and Its Ongoing Legacy. Santa Barbara, CA: Praeger. 

Moore, Randy. 2021. The most famous historical marker in Rhea County. Rhea Notes 23 (3), 1-3.

Moore, Randy. 2021. Correcting the history of the Scopes Trial. Dayton Herald-News, July 18, 1-2.

Moore, Randy. 2021. What John Scopes told his family and friends about his trial. The American Biology Teacher 83 (2), 89-96.

Moore, Randy. 2021. Galápagos: An Encyclopedia of Geography, History, and Culture. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO. Winner of the 2022 American Library Association's RUSA, "the highest award honoring academic reference books or media."

Moore, Randy. 2021. The Grand Canyon as an icon of modern Christian fundamentalism. Pp. 21-28 in Quartaroli, RIchard D. Celebrating 100 Years of Grand Canyon National Park: A Gathering of Grand Canyon Historians. Grand Canyon, AZ: Grand Canyon Conservancy.

Moore, Randy. 2020. Institute for Creation Research Discovery Center for Science and Earth History. Reports of the National Center for Science Education, 40 (1), 7-8.

Moore, Randy. 2020. Origins Museum of Nature, Galápagos, Ecuador. Reports of the National Center for Science Education, 40 (3) , 6-7.

Moore, Randy. 2021. Wyatt Archaeological Museum. Reports of the National Center for Science Education 41 (1), 11-12.

Moore, Randy. 2020. The long and lingering shadow of the Scopes Trial. The American Biology Teacher 82 (2), 81-84.

Moore, Randy. 2020. ICR Discovery Center for Science and Earth History. Reports of the National Center for Science Education 40 (1), 7-8.

Moore, Randy and Roslyn Cameron. 2019. Galápagos Revealed: Finding the Places that Most People Miss. Fairfax, VA: Galápagos Conservancy. 

Mazur, Clayton, Tiffany Galush, Randy Moore, and Sehoya Cotner. 2018. Primary motivations of tourists visiting Galápagos: Do tourists visit the archipelago to learn about evolution? Evolution: Education and Outreach 11 (9) doi.org/10.1186/s12052-018-0085-7

Cotner, Sehoya and Randy Moore. 2018. Evolution education in Galápagos: What do biology teachers know and think about evolution? (pp. 137-151) In Deniz, Hasan and Lisa A. Borgerding (Eds.), Evolution Education Around the Globe. New York: Springer.

Moore, Randy and Kara Felicia Witt. 2018. Grand Canyon: An Encyclopedia of Geography, History, and Culture. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO. 

Cotner, Sehoya, Clayton Mazur, Tiffany Galush, & Randy Moore. 2017. Teaching the tourists in Galápagos: What do Galápagos National Park guides know, think, and teach about evolution? Evolution: Education and Outreach, 10 (9). DOI 10.1186/s12052-017-0072-4.

Moore, Randy. 2016. A Field Guide to the Scopes Trial. Dayton, TN: Rhea County Historical and Genealogical Society. 

Moore, Randy. 2016. Mt. Blanco Fossil Museum. Reports of the National Center for Science Education 36 (3), 5.

Moore, Randy. 2016. A science center with no science. Reports of the National Center for Science Education 36 (2), 7.

Cotner, Sehoya, Hannah Graczyk, José Luis Rodríguez Garcia, and Randy Moore. 2016. In Galápagos... and uncomfortable with evolution. Journal of Biological Education 50 (2), 115-119. 

Moore, Randy. 2016. Canyon Ministries. Reports of the National Center for Science Education 36 (1), 6.

Moore, Randy and William F. McComas. 2016. Images of America: The Scopes Monkey Trial. Charleston, SC: Arcadia Publishing. 

Vodopich, Darrell S., and Randy Moore. 2016. Biology Laboratory Manual, Eleventh Edition. Dubuque, Iowa: McGraw-Hill.

Cameron, Jacquelyn and Randy Moore. 2015. Exploring the Scopes "Monkey" Trial in Dayton, Tennessee: A Guide to the People and Places. The American Biology Teacher 77 (5), 333-337.

Hughes, Andrew and Randy Moore. 2015. Measuring William Bell Riley's anti-evolution crusade in Minnesota. Reports of the National Center for Science Education 35 (1), 1.1-1.13.

Moore, Randy. 2015. David Hume. Reports of the National Center for Science Education 35 (1), 3.1-3.3.

Cotner, Sehoya, D. Christopher Brooks, and Randy Moore. 2014. Science and society: Evolution and student voting patterns. Reports of the National Center for Science Education 34 (6): 1.1-1.9

Moore, Randy. 2014. People and places: William Smith. Reports of the National Center for Science Education 34 (6), 4.1-.4.4. (Note: This is a regular column in this journal)

Moore, Randy. 2014. The “Man Tracks” in Glen Rose. Reports of the National Center for Science Education, 34.2, 1.1-1.6.

Moore, Randy. 2014. Did humans live with dinosaurs? Excavating “Man Tracks” along the Paluxy River. American Biology Teacher, 76 (4), 243-246.

Moore, R. 2014. Dinosaurs by the Decade. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press.

Moore, R. and S. Cotner. 2013. Understanding Galapagos: What you'll see and what it means. McGraw-Hill Science/Engineering/Math. (Paperback)

Cotner, S. and Moore, R. 2011. Arguing for evolution: an encyclopedia for understanding science. Greenwood Press: Westport, CT.

Moore, R. 2009. We are all intellectual descendants of Charles Darwin. The American Biology Teacher, 71 (2), 70-71.

Jensen, P. and Moore, R. 2009. What do help sessions accomplish in introductory science courses? Journal of College Science Teaching, 38 (5), 60-65.

Moore, R. and Cotner, S. 2009. The creationist down the hall: Does it matter when teachers teach creationism? BioScience, 29 (5), 429-436.

Cotner, S., R. Moore, et al. 2009. Is the age of the Earth one our 'sorest troubles?' Students' perceptions about deep time affect their acceptance of evolutionary theory. Evolution, 2010; 64 (3): 858 DOI: 10.1111/j.1558-5646.2009.00911

Moore, R. and M. D. Decker. 2009. More than Darwin: An Encyclopedia of the People and Places of the Evolution-Creationism Controversy. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press. (Paperback)

Vodopich, D. and R. Moore. 2008. Biology Laboratory Manual, Eighth Edition. Dubuque, IA: McGraw-Hill Publishing.

Moore, R. and J. Moore. 2007. Evolution 101. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press.

Moore, R., M. D. Decker, and S. Cotner. 2009. No Prospect of an End: Chronology of the Evolution-Creationism Controversy. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO.

Degrees earned

• B.S., 1975, Texas A & M University, College Station, Texas, Major: Biology
• M.S., 1977, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia, Major: Botany, Thesis: The relationship of nitrogen metabolism to photosynthesis in Digitaria sanguinalis (L.) Scop.
• Ph.D., 1980, University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA), Field: Plant Development, Dissertation: Studies of vegetative compatibility-incompatibility in higher plants

BioSketch | Curriculum Vitae

Awards and honors

• Presidential Scholarship, from the Electron Microscopy Society of America, 1978
• Invited Post-Graduate Student, 9th International Congress on Electron Microscopy, 1978
• Chancellor's Special Commendation as a Teaching Assistant, UCLA, 1979
• Outstanding Teaching Assistant, UCLA, 1980
• Presidential Scholarship, from the Electron Microscopy Society of America, 1980
• Model Teacher, “Mastery of Teaching” film series, 1982, distributed by Instructional Dynamics, Inc., Pacific Palisades, California
• Presidential Award, Scanning Electron Microscopy, 1982
• Elected Fellow, Texas Academy of Science, 1984
• Recipient of the Excellence in Educational Journalism Award of the Education Press Association of America, 1986, 1991, 1992
• Most Outstanding Professor, Baylor University, 1986
• Recipient of the Excellence in Educational Journalism Award of the Washington Press Association, 1986
• Mortar Board “Circle of Achievement” Award as Outstanding Professor at Baylor University, 1986
• Honorary Member, Texas Society for Electron Microscopy, 1987
• Fulbright Scholar, Thailand, 1987
• Kendall Teacher Exemplar Award, presented by the Society for College Science Teachers (the college/university branch of the National Science Teachers Association) to “the most outstanding undergraduate science teacher of the year,” 1993
• Omicron Delta Kappa, 1996
• Most Outstanding Faculty Member, Wright State University, 1992
• Outstanding Scientist Award, presented by the Affiliate Societies Council, 1993
• Outstanding Administrator Award, presented by the Southeast Section of the National Association of Academic Affairs Administrators, 1998
• Honorary Member, National Association of Biology Teachers, 2005. This is the Association’s highest honor.
• Horace T. Morse-University of Minnesota Alumni Award for Outstanding Contributions to Undergraduate Education, 2006.
• Friend of Darwin Award, National Center for Science Education, 2006
• CASE/Carnegie Minnesota Professor of the Year, 2006
• Most Outstanding Biology Research/Teaching Award, National Association of Biology Teachers, 2006
• Inductee, Academy of Distinguished Teachers, University of Minnesota, 2006
• Inductee, Distinguished Alumni Hall of Fame, Columbus School System, Columbus, TX, 2007
• Evolution Education Award, National Association of Biology Teachers, AIBS, & BSCS, 2008
• Most Dogmatic Indoctrinator in an Evolutionary Biology Course, The Discovery Institute, 2008

Professional experience

• Assistant and Associate Professor of Biology, Baylor University, 1980-1988
• Fulbright Scholar, Thailand, 1987
• Professor, Department of Biological Sciences, Wright State University, 1988-1993
• Professor of Biology, University of Akron, 1993-1997
• Professor of Biology, College of Arts & Sciences, University of Louisville, 1997-2000
• Professor of Biology, University of Minnesota, 2000-present