Who is Jerry Falwell Jr. and why is he reforming higher education?

who-is-jerry-falwell-jr-and-why-is-he-reforming-higher-education photo 1 REUTERS/Scott Morgan

Donald Trump has already earned his reputation of nominating candidates for his cabinet-level positions who face stiff opposition from the science and tech community. He's given the nod to former Texas Governor, Rick Perry, who once called on Congress to abolish the Energy Department that he now heads and EPA nominee Scott Pruitt who, as Oklahoma Attorney General, sued the EPA no less than 14 times. On Tuesday, Trump continued this streak by tapping Jerry Falwell Jr. to head up a Presidential task force charged with suggesting reforms for the Department of Education.

Jerry Falwell Jr. is the President of Liberty University and one of America's most vocal evangelical Christian leaders. He's also the son of ultra-conservative Southern Baptist pastor, televangelist and founder of the Moral Majority movement, Jerry Falwell. Falwell the younger holds a JD from University of Virginia School of Law as well as a BA in Religious Studies from the school he now governs. Given his pedigree, Falwell Jr's politics unsurprisingly skew far to the right.

Falwell is apparently not too big on the sciences, at least as they have conventionally been taught. That is, science courses at Liberty University take the Bible to be a historically accurate document, rather than a collection of parables. Falwell's input could have a debilitating effect on the direction of higher education -- especially modern STEM courses -- when Liberty University issues textbooks such as these:

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