Category: Culture
Two Astronomers at Iowa State Tied to Statement Denouncing Intelligent Design as “Creationist Pseudoscience”
Two of the five active tenured astronomy professors in the department that denied tenure to Guillermo Gonzalez at Iowa State University are connected to a widely-publicized statement that denounces intelligent design as “creationist pseudoscience.” Professor Steven Kawaler, the Program Coordinator for astronomy in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at ISU, actually signed the statement, and he provides a link to both the statement and an article about it on his website. University Professor Lee Anne Willson, meanwhile, is married to ISU mathematics professor Stephen J. Willson, who also signed the anti-ID statement.Known as “Project Steve,” the anti-ID statement was the brainchild of the pro-Darwin National Center for Science Education. The statement declares that “it is scientifically inappropriate and pedagogically Read More ›
Iowa Paper Demands Explanation from ISU President in Gonzalez Case
The Ames, Iowa Tribune is now calling for an explanation from Iowa State University’s president about the recent denial of tenure to pro-ID astronomer Guillermo Gonzalez. It seems clear that the hard questions being raised about Gonzalez’s case aren’t about to go away.
Tenure Statistics Contradict Iowa State’s Claim that “many good researchers have failed to satisfy the demands of earning tenure” at ISU
Iowa State University has attempted to defend its denial of tenure to widely-published pro-ID astronomer Guillmero Gonzalez by insisting earlier this week that tenure is hard to get at ISU. Indeed, according to a statement about the Gonzalez case posted on ISU’s home page, tenure is a high standard of excellence and achievement — so high, that many good researchers have failed to satisfy the demands of earning tenure. So just how “many” is “many”? Not very many, it turns out. We requested data from ISU on the number of tenure applications and rejections at the university for the past five years, and here is what we found out:
Dembski Responds to Derbyshire
Bill Dembski has posted an excellent riposte to John Derbyshire’s recent comments at the AEI conference on Darwinism and conservatism in which George Gilder and I participated. Eventually I plan to write my own reflections about some of Derbyshire’s comments, but in the meantime Dembski hits the nail on the head.
Associated Press Picks Up Tenure Denial Story at Iowa State
The Associated Press is now covering the denial of tenure Dr. Guillermo Gonzalez at Iowa State University, filing a fair-minded and generally accurate article that mentions some of Dr. Gonzalez’s scientific accomplishments and discusses the surrounding context of intolerance.