Russ Pulliam

Ball State President Jo Ann Gora is being praised for a job well done as she prepares to wind up her leadership of the university, but she’ll need the wisdom of Solomon in handling the latest controversy over intelligent design vs. evolution.

Influential members of the General Assembly want to review the university’s policy on how to discuss origins of the universe.

Most scientists say that evidence overwhelmingly supports the theory of evolution, but a smaller group of scientists and philosophers see evidence of design as pertinent in a discussion of origins.

The issue at Ball State is whether that second viewpoint belongs in science classes.

Many advocates of evolution argue that intelligent design is as credible as a flat Earth theory and shouldn’t be included in any science-based course discussions. Others are more humble about the certainty that intelligent design is wrong and recommend tolerance in the debate.

The Ball State controversy began when the Wisconsin-based Freedom From Religion Foundation filed a complaint because physics professor Eric Hedin included intelligent design in a course on the boundaries of science. Some students defended Hedin’s approach, but others objected. “I’m an agnostic and I find nothing wrong with his teachings,” one student wrote. “It is one of the most innovative classes I have had during my time at Ball State.”

A Ball State committee looked into the controversy last year, and Hedin’s course was shut down.

But last year the university also hired Guillermo Gonzalez, another intelligent design advocate. An astronomer, Gonzalez, who came to the United States as a refugee from communism in Cuba, has a doctorate from the University of Washington. His book, “The Privileged Planet: How Our Place in the Cosmos is Designed for Discovery,” was published in 2004.

Now, Indiana Senate Education Committee Chairman Dennis Kruse and other members of the General Assembly wonder if intelligent design will be off-limits for Hedin and Gonzalez.

“Does the policy forbid science professors from explaining either their support or rejection of intelligent design in answer to student questions about intelligent design in class?” the legislators have asked. Other courses, they say, seem to allow for attacks on intelligent design.

The controversy puts Ball State and Gora in a tight spot. Hedin’s course was shut down based on the the stand that intelligent design is not science. But Gora seems to be looking for middle ground, allowing Hedin to teach and adding Gonzalez to the faculty, but steering them away from talking about intelligent design in the classroom.

It appears, however, that the balancing act isn’t satisfactory for key members of the General Assembly.

Pulliam is associate editor of The Star. Email him at russell.pulliam@indystar.com.