Date: Wed Dec 05 2007 - 22:50:06 EST
Evolution News & Views
News Analysis of Media Coverage of the Debate Over Evolution
< <http://www.evolutionnews.org/2007/12/intelligent_design_was_the_iss.html>
Design Was the Issue After All: ISU's official explanation in Gonzalez case
exposed as a sham | Main <http://www.evolutionnews.org/> | Secret
<http://www.evolutionnews.org/2007/12/secret_isu_faculty_emails_expr.html>
ISU Faculty E-mails Express Vitriol Towards Intelligent Design, Disregard
for Academic Freedom, and attempts to Hide a Plot to Oust an Outstanding
Scientist >
Secret Emails Reveal How ISU Faculty Plotted to Deny Distinguished
Astronomer Tenure
ISU's tenure process and official explanation in the Gonzalez case exposed
as a sham.
Des Moines, IA -- Iowa State University faculty plotted to deny tenure to a
distinguished astronomer, as revealed in private emails written by faculty
and administrators at ISU.
Discovery Institute is making public a record of secret emails exchanged
among faculty at Iowa State University about noted ISU astronomer Dr.
<http://www.evolutionnews.org/2007/05/biosketch_of_dr_guillermo_gonz.html>
Guillermo Gonzalez. The emails demonstrate that a campaign was organized and
conducted against Gonzalez by his colleagues, with the intent to deny him
tenure because of views he holds on the intelligent design (ID) of the
universe, expressed in his 2004 book <http://www.privilegedplanet.com> The
Privileged Planet. In spite of his distinguished publishing career, Gonzalez
was denied tenure by ISU in the spring of 2007.
Faculty involved in the tenure decision were well aware of Gonzalez's
support for ID. More than one year before his tenure evaluation was
scheduled, one ISU professor wrote an e-mail that left no doubt that
Gonzalez's tenure application would never receive a fair evaluation.
"He will be up for tenure next year," wrote the professor. "And if he keeps
up, it might be a hard sell to the department."
Contrary to his public statements, and those of ISU President Gregory
Geoffroy, the chairman of ISU's Department of Physics and Astronomy, Dr. Eli
Rosenberg, stated in Dr. Gonzalez's tenure dossier that Dr. Gonzalez's
support for intelligent design "disqualifies him from serving as a science
educator."
_____
Click <http://www.evolutionnews.org/ID_was_the_Issue_Gonzalez_Tenure.pdf>
to download ID Was the Issue After All (including e-mail quotes)
Click to download <http://www.evolutionnews.org/gg-bckgrndr.final.pdf>
Backgrounder on Guillermo Gonzalez Story
Click to download <http://www.evolutionnews.org/GG-QA%20final.pdf> Q&A on
Guillermo Gonzalez Story
_____
"Dr. Rosenberg misled Dr. Gonzalez, the public, and the media when he said
that ID barely played a role in the decision," said Casey Luskin, Discovery
Institute's attorney for public policy and legal affairs. "In fact, a third
of his own statement in the tenure dossier focused on Gonzalez's views on
intelligent design, where he instructed faculty that support for ID as
science should be a litmus test for denying tenure to Dr. Gonzalez."
ISU faculty have claimed that ID was not discussed as often as other
subjects during the tenure deliberations, but that "is only because at
secret and inappropriate tenure deliberations held via e-mail a year before
the official process started, they decided that they wanted Gonzalez out of
ISU because he supported intelligent design," said Luskin.
Gonzalez's colleagues privately deliberated via e-mails about his tenure and
collaborated to express their intolerance toward him by asserting that ID is
"intellectually vacuous," and "more than just vacuous," and that "embalming
is more of a science" than ID.
They also wrote that Gonzalez should be lumped with "idiots" and "religious
nutcases." They mocked Gonzalez's ID work, saying they would study it
"[u]nder medication."
His own department members drafted-and nearly released-a petition against ID
with the avowed purpose "to discredit" Gonzalez and "give Gonzalez a clear
sign that his ID efforts will not be considered as science by the faculty."
Members of ISU's department of Physics and Astronomy wanted Gonzalez to know
"that this is not a friendly place for him to develop further his IDeas" and
thus hoped "he may look for a better place as a result."
"Faculty in the department knew they were treading on dangerous ground,"
explained Luskin. "They repeatedly expressed their fear that their e-mails
were, in effect, 'secret meetings' on Dr. Gonzalez's tenure."
One faculty member wrote in e-mails that "[i]n view of an upcoming tenure
decision, secrecy in the department may equally be interpreted as prejudging
the case as making a statement" because "[i]f it becomes clear that there
were efforts to write such a statement and that the statement was not made
only to avoid the impression of a hostile environment, isn't this strong
evidence for secrecy in the department[?]." Another stated, "I don't think
talking behind Guillermo's back is quite ethical."
"Their concerns ultimately centered around outward appearances of fairness
for legal purposes, not true protection of academic freedom," added Luskin.
"The emails prove that Dr. Gonzalez lost his job because of views on ID, not
because of his job performance," said Luskin, adding that this "is a clear
First Amendment case."
On December 4, the Iowa State Board of Regents has its next scheduled
meeting.
"Like the ISU administration, the Board has ignored the significance of such
a gross breach of academic freedom and professional misconduct by some
faculty," said Luskin.
"By denying requests to include these e-mails from the record in Gonzalez's
case, the Board has refused to acknowledge most of the evidence uncovered in
the open records request in an apparent attempt to keep it from the public,"
said Luskin. "It is extremely disconcerting that they are closing their eyes
to the fact that Gonzalez was a victim of academic persecution, since they
will ultimately issue a final administrative ruling on this case."
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