The following two letters appeared in this week's (March 31, 1993)
_Chronicle_of_Higher_Education_ (page B6):
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To the Editior:

As faculty in the Division of Biological Sciences and the Department
of Anthropology at the University of Missouri at Columbia, we are
writing to express our view that evolution is no more subject to
conjecture than say, gravity, magnetic attraction, or the atomic
nature of matter.  Each of these concepts explains such an immense
number of observations, that they have been accepted as fact by the
scientific community.

Evolutionary "theory" refers to hypotheses on the mechanisms
contributing to evolution (e.g., genetic drift, natural selection,
mutation), not to the hypothetical nature of evolution, itself.  This
view shapes our undergraduate and graduate curricula in biologica
sciences and anthropology and underlies much of our research.
The opinion of Richard P. Dowdy ("Evolution: theory or fact?"
Letters to the Editor, February 24) that "evolution has not yet
been proven" is a personal opinion that does not represent the
views of the university, its researchers, or graduate faculty.

Dr. Dowdy surely is entitled to express his personal point of view.
We value diversity of perspectives at MU  -  this makes for a
stimulating intellectual environment.  However, we wish to make it
clear that Dr. Dowdy does not speak for "Graduate Research and
Education" at our institution. His title of "Associate Dean of
Research and Graduate Education" is applicable only within his
home College of Human Environmental Sciences. As we understand
it, the Chronicle abbreviated Dr. Dowdy's title, ommitting his
college affiliation.  We consider this inappropriate editorial
practice.  We feel that, given the content of Dowdy's letter,
the Chronicle should not have used a title implying any policy
of the University of Missouri without an inquiry, and as such
owes the university an apology.

        Candace Galen
        Associate Professor of Biological Science
        
        Mark Flinn
        Assistant Professor of Anthropology
        And 27 other faculty members
        College of Arts and Science
        University of Missouri at Columbia
        Columbia, MO

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To the Editor:
        
Considerable misunderstanding has developed as a result of my
letter to you which was published in the Chronicle.  Please let
me clarify. The letter represented my own thoughts and was not
intended to represent either university or college opinion or
position.

It was wrong for me to use my administrative title and I want to
apologize for that error.

Concerning the particular issue, evolutionary changes do occur;
that is factual.  To me, the theory of evolution relates to attempts
to explain these phenomena.  Thus, in my attempt to be brief, I fell
prey to the very point I was trying to clarify  -  differentiating
fact from theory.
   
      Richard P. Dowdy
      Associate Professor of Food Science and Human Nutrition
      University of Missouri at Columbia
      Columbia, MO