Professor: 'Religion' behind tenure dispute

World Net Daily ^ | Friday, July 13, 2007 | Staff Writer

[Turret Gunner A20]

Intelligent Design scientist faults university evolution ideology

A scientist who believes the theory of intelligent design helps explain life's origins is appealing to state officials to save his job at Iowa State University, where his tenure was rejected because of his "personal religious and ideological beliefs."

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John West, associate director of the Discovery Institute's Center for Science & Culture, where Gonzalez is a senior fellow, said the tenure denial is "clearly a result of the vicious attacks he's had to endure from Darwinists and various atheists for presenting a scientific argument for the intelligent design of the universe based on the empirical evidence from physics and astronomy."

Gonzalez, who will be out of his job at ISU after the 2007-2008 year if the decision is not changed, was rejected by officials despite his publication of 68 peer-reviewed scientific articles, nearly four times what his own department suggests as a standard for "excellence."

His articles also have the highest normalized citation count among all of the astronomers in his department, a standard used to evaluate the work of professors.

"Incredibly, ISU's President Geoffroy denied tenure to Gonzalez while approving 91 percent of those applying for tenure this year," said West. "Geoffroy even promoted to full professor one of Gonzalez's chief persecutors at ISU, atheist religion professor Hector Avaloz, who believes that the Bible is worse than Hitler's Mein Kampf."

The day after ISU's president announced his rejection of Gonzalez's first appeal, a member of ISU's department of physics and astronomy published an article in the Des Moines Register openly admitting that Gonzalez's support for intelligent design was the only reason he voted against tenure for Gonzalez.

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Gonzalez has said he does not teach intelligent design at the school

[Coyoteman]

Why doesn’t the Discovery Institute (chuckle) just hire him full time where he can follow what is obviously his passion?

He's an astronomer. Last I heard the Discovery Institute did not have an astronomy department (or any other branch of science for that matter).

They are strictly a PR outfit pushing ID.

ID, in turn, has only been seriously pushed in the US since creation "science" was tossed out of the schools by a Supreme Court decision.

[WVNan]

Well, good upon you for homeschooling, and I agree that is the best thing to do.

I take a little issue with your point that when Creationists ran the schools that Evolution was excluded. Evolution was included in my own public school education which took place not so long after Darwin proposed it. Contrary to popular belief, Christians have traditionally made waves when others disparage their religion. After all, it is the religion that teaches us to "love our enemies." That may change if the attacks keep coming. The Crusades were not about power, they were about defending the faith from extinction.

[WVNan]

Correction: Christians has NOT traditionally made waves...

[stormer]

“They are strictly a PR outfit pushing ID.”

Unfortunately, there are some that believe otherwise. What I don’t understand is someone with legitimate scientific credentials not acknowledging the work done by others in their respective fields. If I (an ecologist) started spouting of about medicine or physics or anthropology and was corrected by folks who may have spent lifetimes studying those disciplines, I would hope that I would listen. It always cracks me up when some mathematician or electrical engineer presumes to pontificate on biology. Now I can balance a checkbook and rewire a lamp, but I’m not going to tell those folks I’m smarter than them,

[Dinsdale]

Evolution was included in my own public school education which took place not so long after Darwin proposed it.

And your still spry enough to post. Amazingly well preserved you are.

Tenure has always been an inherently political process. If you want tenure you don't use your position and title to promote controversial positions unsupported by any science. Even if your position is supported by hard data (unlike ID) you tread lightly. That's life in universities everywhere. I'm surprised this prof didn't learn that in dealing with his PhD committee.

Everybody knows that it's after a prof gets tenure that (s)he tends to truly go off the rails.

[nathanbedford]

In other words, there is nothing there to justify denying him tenure.

I'm quite sure you are correct. What I am looking for is something that would justify legally awarding him his tenure.

[nathanbedford]

In other words, there is nothing there to justify denying him tenure.

I'm quite sure you are correct. What I am looking for is something that would justify legally awarding him his tenure.

[Cicero]

It won’t happen. If he takes it to court and proves discrimination, he could get a year’s salary. But judges are hesitant to force colleges to grant tenure.

The AAUP used to be capable of pressuring colleges to do the right thing, going as far as issuing boycotts and blacklising, but they’ve gotten very politically correct. It’s unlikely they would intervene in support of someone who has been discriminated against for an interest in intelligent design.

I presume the legislators will feel the same way about pressuring the university. So, I think the case ends with the president’s decision. Too bad.

[MatthewTan]

What biology are you talking about? Gonzalez’s work is about the cosmos, galaxies, solar systems, planets, Earth, and the possibility of biological life on Earth vs other planets, exo-planets, moons, etc.