The players

• Steve Abrams is chairman of the State Board of Education and the main mover to hold the hearings. He is a conservative Republican from Arkansas City, where he works as a veterinarian. He supported the 1999 move to de-emphasize evolution and has been on the board since 1995.
• Connie Morris is a conservative Republican from St. Francis who has served on the board since 2003. She is a former elementary school teacher and wrote an autobiography about her recovery through Jesus Christ as a victim of sex abuse, substance abuse and poverty. In the past, Morris has said she supported teaching evolution alongside other origin of life theories, such as creationism. She has also spoken in favor of banning the children of illegal immigrants from attending public schools.
• Kathy Martin is a conservative Republican from Clay Center. A retired teacher, she was elected last year, tipping the balance of the board back to conservatives. She has said the teaching of creationism and intelligent design should be included in the science standards or evolution shouldn’t be taught.
• John Calvert is a retired attorney from Lake Quivira, and managing director of the Shawnee Mission-based Intelligent Design Network. Calvert has spearheaded opposition to the science standards and has rounded up 23 witnesses to testify in support of debunking basic precepts of evolution.
• Pedro Irigonegaray, a high-profile attorney from Topeka and supporter of the pro-evolution science standards, will cross-examine Calvert’s witnesses and make his own presentation and closing remarks to the board.
• Steve Case is an assistant research professor at Kansas University’s Center for Research on Learning. He is co-chairman of the 25-member science standards committee, which drafted proposed standards that are opposed by conservatives on the State Board of Education. Case has decided to boycott the hearings and says he hopes the electorate is outraged over the hearings and defeats them at the polls.
• Harry McDonald and Jack Krebs, leaders of Kansas Citizens for Science, will man a media booth to provide interviews and critiques of the testimony before the board.

The witnesses

A specific schedule of which witnesses will testify has not been finalized, according to the Kansas Department of Education.

John Calvert, however, lists the witnesses and their anticipated dates of testimony as the following:

Thursday

• William Harris, professor of medicine at University of Missouri at Kansas City. Harris led a group of eight members of the science standards committee to issue a minority report that criticizes evolution.
• Ralph Seelke, biology professor at University of Wisconsin.
• Bruce Simat, associate professor at North Western College, St. Paul, Minn.
• Giuseppe Sermonti, retired professor of genetics at University of Perugia, Italy.
• Charles Thaxton, co-author of “The Mysteries of Life’s Origin.”
• Jonathan Wells, molecular and cell biologist, senior fellow at Discovery Institute, which promotes intelligent design, and author of “Icons of Evolution.”

Friday

• Russell Carlson, professor of biochemistry and molecular biology at University of Georgia.
• Roger DeHart, biology teacher Oaks Christian High School, San Diego.
• Robert Disilvestro, biochemist, nutrition professor, Ohio State University.
• Daniel Ely, biology professor.
• Jill Gonzalez-Bravo, science teacher at Rose Hill (Kan.) Middle School.
• Bryan Leonard, high school biology teacher.
• John Millam, theoretical chemist and software developer.
• Edward Peltzer, oceanographer, researcher in chemical evolution.
• John Sanford, associate professor at Cornell University.

Saturday

• Mustafa Akyol, spokesman for Islamic organizations interested in origins science.
• James Barnham, scholar and writer.
• Michael Behe, professor of biochemistry at Lehigh University.
• Nancy Bryson, assistant professor of chemistry at Kennesaw State University.
• John Calvert, lawyer and managing director of Intelligent Design network.
• Angus Menuge, philosophy professor at Concordia University.
• Stephen Meyer, director and senior fellow of the Center for Science and Culture at the Discovery Institute.
• Warren Nord, professor of philosophy of religion and education, University of North Carolina.