Iowa State University cops "Outrage Award" for denying tenure to astronomer Guillermo Gonzalez

Recently, the Collegiate Network, a conservative student group, awarded Iowa State University (where Guillermo Gonzalez was refused tenure) the "Campus Outrage Award", an award that recognizes professional outrage-ees:

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Earlier this month, the Collegiate Network awarded Iowa State University (ISU) a 2008 Campus Outrage Award for classroom bias. ISU received the fifth place for denying Professor Guillermo Gonzalez, Assistant Professor of Physics & Astronomy, tenure after he co-authored in 2004 the book, "The Privileged Planet," which suggests Intelligent Design might be responsible for life on Earth. Although he never taught Intelligent Design in class, when Dr. Gonzalez applied for tenure in 2007, he was denied.

It is inexplicable that Mr. Gonzalez was denied tenure. He has had nearly 70 peer-reviewed articles published and has co-authored a major college-level astronomy textbook, which was well beyond the standard and tenure requirements of the Physics & Astronomy department at ISU. Interestingly enough, while his colleagues questioned Mr. Gonzalez's view on Intelligent Design — a bias clearly revealed through faculty e-mail exchanges released to the public — they heartily approved of another ISU professor, Hector Alvalos, who drew parallels between "Mein Kampf" and the Bible. (Doug Schenider, "Flunking the tenure test", Washington Times online, April 23, 2008)
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Here's another of CN's noble awardees:

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Indiana University-Purdue University, Indianapolis, took third place for the letter its Affirmative Action Office issued claiming that student-employee Keith Sampson "demonstrated disdain and insensitivity" to coworkers by reading in their presence "Notre Dame vs. The Klan: How the Fighting Irish Defeated the Ku Klux Klan." The book described how Notre Dame, in 1924, chased the Ku Klux Klan out of South Bend, Ind.

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The thing to see about the "outrage in Indiana" is that the campus Affirmative Action office doesn't care what the student thinks about the Klan; it caters to hurt feelings created by misunderstandings - because that's what keeps the officers employed. They may well lack the qualifications for more intellectually respectable work.

Anyway, it is good to see students beginning to stand up for their right to learn. It's all they've got really.