In July 2017, RISE Stronger, 500 Women Scientists, the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS), and the Engaging Scientists and Engineers in Policy (ESEP) Coalition joined together to launch our Op-Ed Project: Building a Better Society Through Science. We called on individuals to speak up for science by writing an op-ed in support of government funding for science, technology, and the programs that help build our society, support our local communities, and make the world a better place. You can view the original announcement here and view the original op-ed prompt here.

Many concerned citizens answered the call, and they helped get the word out about the importance of non-defense discretionary spending for their local communities. To date, 15 op-eds from this project have been published in local papers across the U.S. (updated February 15, 2018).

Published Op-Eds

Below is a list of all op-eds published to date. Click on the title of each op-ed to read it in full.

Author Title & Weblink Newspaper City/County State Date Published
Nathaniel Boyd Alabama should reject cuts to federal non-defense spending for the sake of our local communities The Birmingham News Birmingham AL September 5, 2017
Caitlin Tiffany Non-Defense Spending Territorial Dispatch Yuba, Sutter, Colusa, Nevada Counties CA September 11, 2017
Heidi Steltzer Protecting people through the science of studying plants The Durango Herald Durango CO September 30, 2017
Adam Rosenblatt Trump's budget could hurt Jacksonville The Florida Times-Union Jacksonville FL September 9, 2017
Caitlin Peterson In defense of non-defense Ocala Star Banner Ocala FL September 3, 2017
Nicole Baran & Nastassia Patin Don't tax future scientists and engineers out of existence The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Atlanta GA November 28, 2017
Marianne Lalonde Cuts to non-defense spending come at the expense of public health Crain's Chicago Business Chicago IL September 13, 2017
Benjamin Wolfson Fund science to fight cancer The Baltimore Sun Baltimore MD September 7, 2017
Judith Weis To help New Jersey, Congress should invest in science The Record Bergen County NJ September 12, 2017
Sutyajeet Soneja In defense of 'non-defense': spending on foreign aid helps the Triangle The News & Observer Raleigh NC February 15, 2018
Martin Wolf Trump budget proposal bad for education, diplomacy, research Democrat & Chronicle Rochester NY September 14, 2017
Thomas Colvin Federally funded science to benefit everyone Sandusky Register Sandusky OH September 20, 2017
Sandy Field We need more contracts The Daily Item Sunbury PA August 3, 2017
Rachel Usdan Pittsburgh needs federal support to keep its soil, air and water clean Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Pittsburgh PA November 25, 2017
Rudy Kahsar Progress depends on basic science Richmond Times-Dispatch Richmond VA December 1, 2017

November Op-Ed Webinar

For those who have not had their op-ed published yet, or who were not able to participate in the first round, we have another opportunity to get our message out as we approach the expiration of the current continuing resolution on December 8. We have scheduled another webinar to provide an update to project participants on where the budget process currently stands and to give pointers on updating op-eds to submit again in November.

We highly encourage anyone who went through the editing process in August and hasn't had their op-ed published to join us for the webinar. This will also be an opportunity for those who didn't write an op-ed yet to consider writing one now.

If you are interested in participating, please send us an email at [email protected].

Have comments or something to add? Contact the RISE Stronger Science & Technology Policy Working Group at [email protected].

Want to learn more? Check us out online at risestronger.org/groups/rise-science-technology, and sign up for the RISE S&T Newsletter at tinyletter.com/rise-science-tech.