Thoughts in a Haystack

There is a small story from WHO-TV about Guillermo Gonzalez attending an opening of Expelled in Ames, Iowa, home of Iowa State University, which denied him tenure, allegedly because of his advocacy for Intelligent Design. According to the story, despite Gonzalez' status as "Exhibit A" in support of one of the central themes of the movie -- that "academic freedom is being denied dissenters from "Darwinism" -- his appearance in the film amounts to only two minutes.

Well I don't see myself as a hero. I do some research in intelligent design and many people find that interesting and even convincing, and I'm happy for that.

The most interesting thing about the article is the news that Gonzalez has taken PZ Myers' advice:

Instead of fighting to get into a department that doesn't want him, Gonzalez should be trying to get into a different position, one that is a better match to his talents and goals. There may be some understandable reluctance to pursue that, since his next step is something like Liberty University or Bob Jones University -- he'd fit in well in those kinds of places, and would probably be a shoo-in for tenure.

The story reveals that Gonzalez has accepted a position to head up the astronomy program at Grove City College, a small Christian school with about 2,500 students near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Good luck to him.
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