Science Education Professor Named Linnean Society of London Fellow

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Professor William McComas stands next to the statue of fellow Linnean Society member Charles Darwin at the Natural History Museum in London.

William F. McComas, the Parks Family Distinguished Professor of Science Education in the College of Education and Health Professions, was voted a Fellow at the fall 2021 meeting of the Linnean Society of London. He joins a host of other scientists and scholars who have been members and Fellows during the more than 230-year history of the organization.

The Linnean Society, the world's oldest active biological society, was founded in 1788 and named in honor of Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus, who established the system used to name and classify the biological world. The Linnean system allows scientists "to identify baselines and track the impact of human activity on the environment around us, including food supplies, as we face the combined challenges of biodiversity loss and climate change," according to the website.

Membership in the organization is open to professional scientists and amateurs who share an interest in natural history. "The Fellowship is international and includes world leaders in each branch of biology who use the Society's premises and publications to communicate new advances in their fields," McComas said. Many noteworthy scientists have been members, including Charles Darwin and Alfred Russel Wallace, the co-discoverers of natural selection, a key mechanism of evolution.

McComas was recommended as a Fellow because of his work in evolution education, Darwin studies and his editorship of The American Biology Teacher, the journal of the National Association of Biology Teachers.

The Linnean Society is headquartered in New Burlington House, a neo-Palladian mansion in the Mayfair section of London. It shares the building with four other learned societies, the Geological Society, Royal Astronomical Society, Society of Antiquaries and the Royal Society of Chemistry. 

Since 1829, the society has safeguarded the personal books of Linnaeus, along with his collection of flora and fauna. In addition, it maintains a vast library focused on natural history, biodiversity, the environment, conservation and related topics. The society supports basic scholarship, public outreach and informed policymaking.