ISU wins award, well sort of

**Cyclonepride** · 04-15-2008, 11:57 AM

Campus Magazine Online: The Indispensable Source for Campus News and Commentary - 2008 Campus Outrage Awards

**Cyclonepride** · 04-15-2008, 11:57 AM

5. Iowa State University

Sometimes no matter how qualified a professor is, if his views, or even his tolerance of others’ ideas, don’t conform to leftist ideology, tenure is attainable only in daydreams. Just ask Iowa State University astronomy professor Guillermo Gonzalez. In 2004, Gonzalez, now a fellow at the Discovery Institute, co-authored the book The Privileged Planet, which suggests Intelligent Design might be responsible for life on earth. In 2007, Gonzalez applied for tenure but was denied.

Yet Gonzalez was extremely qualified for tenure. He had published 68 peer-reviewed articles and co-authored an astronomy textbook, which was well beyond the department standard at ISU, where 91 percent of tenure applications were approved in 2007. While his colleagues disagreed with Intelligent Design (a subject Gonzalez had never taught in the classroom), they were okay with drawing parallels between Mein Kampf and the Bible, as religious studies professor Hector Alvalos has done. Alvalos was up for tenure at the same time as Gonzalez, and, naturally, was approved.
Gonzalez appealed the university’s decision to the Board of Regents, which refused to let Gonzalez plead his case and voted against the appeal 7 to 1.

**cycloneryan** · 04-15-2008, 11:59 AM

This would be a bigger deal if it was published on some website that people actually read.

**Knownothing** · 04-15-2008, 12:04 PM

It reminds me of Obama's pastor who was railing at that funeral the other day about O"rielly and Hannity. Telling everyone how they basically suck because someone has a different opinion than him. Problem is he has a different opinion than them so why is he railing against them.

**RTBIO** · 04-15-2008, 12:14 PM

Originally Posted by cycloneryan

This would be a bigger deal if it was published on some website that people actually read.

No, what is a big deal is that this goofball Gonzalez could get a job anywhere near a university in the first place.

**Cyclonepride** · 04-15-2008, 12:20 PM

Originally Posted by RTBIO

No, what is a big deal is that this goofball Gonzalez could get a job anywhere near a university in the first place.

Evidently he is desirable to a pretty well thought of school.....

GCC: Rankings

**RTBIO** · 04-15-2008, 12:23 PM

Originally Posted by Cyclonepride

Evidently he is desirable to a pretty well thought of school.....

GCC: Rankings

Yeah, they'll be Ivy League before ya know it.

**dustinal** · 04-15-2008, 12:26 PM

Guillermo was in the Physics and Astronomy department. Avalos (spelled incorrectly as "Alvalos" in the article) is in the Philosophy and Religious Studies department. Those are two completely different departments with completely different criteria for acquiring tenure, so to compare the two is unfair.

**htownclone** · 04-15-2008, 12:28 PM

Originally Posted by RTBIO

No, what is a big deal is that this goofball Gonzalez could get a job anywhere near a university in the first place.

I don't think there was sarcasm in this post, which is a shame.

Your quote is ridiculous. Clearly you never had him in class either. NOT ONCE in any class I had with him did he ever talk about his personal views.

In fact, when I showed up to Cornerstone Church one Sunday and discovered he was speaking, I thought to myself, "who let this liberal turd come into church to speak?" ...because I assumed he was some evolution nut, based on the fact he teaches science.

What truly is the "big deal" is that he was screwed over for his personal views, which were never brought into the classroom.

You crazy wacko's that bash him and think he shouldn't even be at a university or teaching haven't a clue in the world.

**norseclone** · 04-15-2008, 12:30 PM

Originally Posted by Cyclonepride

5. Iowa State University

Sometimes no matter how qualified a professor is, if his views, or even his tolerance of others’ ideas, don’t conform to leftist ideology, tenure is attainable only in daydreams. Just ask Iowa State University astronomy professor Guillermo Gonzalez. In 2004, Gonzalez, now a fellow at the Discovery Institute, co-authored the book The Privileged Planet, which suggests Intelligent Design might be responsible for life on earth. In 2007, Gonzalez applied for tenure but was denied.

Yet Gonzalez was extremely qualified for tenure. He had published 68 peer-reviewed articles and co-authored an astronomy textbook, which was well beyond the department standard at ISU, where 91 percent of tenure applications were approved in 2007. While his colleagues disagreed with Intelligent Design (a subject Gonzalez had never taught in the classroom), they were okay with drawing parallels between Mein Kampf and the Bible, as religious studies professor Hector Alvalos has done. Alvalos was up for tenure at the same time as Gonzalez, and, naturally, was approved.
Gonzalez appealed the university’s decision to the Board of Regents, which refused to let Gonzalez plead his case and voted against the appeal 7 to 1.

As for reality, we'll go here.

"Astronomer Guillermo Gonzalez, for example, did not get tenure at Iowa State University in Ames and is portrayed in the film as sacrificed on the alter of tenure denial because of his authorship of a pro–intelligent design book entitled The Privileged Planet (Regnery Publishing, 2004). As Scott told me, "Tenure is based on the evaluation of academic performance at one's current institution for the previous seven years." Although Gonzales was apparently a productive scientist before he moved to Iowa State, Scott says that "while there, his publication record tanked, he brought in only a couple of grants—one of which was from the [John] Templeton Foundation to write The Privileged Planet—didn't have very many graduate students, and those he had never completed their degrees. Lots of people don't get tenure, for the same legitimate reasons that Gonzalez didn't get tenure."

Tenure in any department is serious business, because it means, essentially, employment for life. Tenure decisions for astronomers are based on the number and quality of scientific papers published, the prestige of the journal in which they are published, the number of grants funded (universities are ranked, in part, by the grant-productivity of their faculties), the number of graduate students who completed their program, the amount of telescope time allocated as well as the trends in each of these categories, indicating whether or not the candidate shows potential for continued productivity. In point of fact, according to Gregory Geoffroy, president of Iowa State, "Over the past 10 years, four of the 12 candidates who came up for review in the physics and astronomy department were not granted tenure." Gonzales was one of them, and for good reasons, despite Stein's claim of his "stellar academic record."

Article linked, the quoted portion is on page 3.

**RTBIO** · 04-15-2008, 01:11 PM

Originally Posted by htownclone

...Your...ridiculous. ...I thought to myself, "...liberal turd...evolution nut"...You crazy wacko's...haven't a clue in the world.

Casting stones? Name-calling like that is usually a sign of some serious insecurity. I hope you're able to find some reliable help.

**htownclone** · 04-15-2008, 01:20 PM

Originally Posted by RTBIO

Casting stones? Name-calling like that is usually a sign of some serious insecurity. I hope you're able to find some reliable help.

Actually, I'm not insecure at all. I could take certain words from text and turn them into something else too. Let me guess, you probably take Bush's speeches and do the same thing and take certain words out to make it look worse?

Give me a break.

**htownclone** · 04-15-2008, 01:26 PM

Originally Posted by RTBIO

No, what is a big deal is that this goofball Gonzalez could get a job anywhere near a university in the first place.

I'd also love to hear your reasons on why he shouldn't be allowed near a university in a first place...other than the fact that his opinions differ from your own.

**jbhtexas** · 04-15-2008, 01:28 PM

Originally Posted by norseclone

Tenure decisions for astronomers are based on the number and quality of scientific papers published, the prestige of the journal in which they are published, the number of grants funded (universities are ranked, in part, by the grant-productivity of their faculties), the number of graduate students who completed their program, the amount of telescope time allocated as well as the trends in each of these categories, indicating whether or not the candidate shows potential for continued productivity.

Perhaps one day, teachers at a university might actually be evaluated on their ability to teach students. A novel concept, I'm sure...