University of Idaho President says “only evolution.”

This is an interesting development. The President of the University of Idaho has issued a directive that only Evolution may be taught in its biology and physical science classes. “Intelligent Design” may be taught in philosophy, religion, sociology or political science courses, but not in biology, life or physical science.

This is the first such directive by a University President and what makes it especially interesting is that one of the major supporters of Intelligent Design is a tenured professor at the University of Idaho’s school of Agriculture and is scheduled to testify in the Dover trial.

Predictably the Discovery Institute is howling in outrage claiming this is a violation of at least academic freedom if not freedom of speech. I certainly believe that a University President has some level of authority relating to the quality and accuracy of education at his institution. As to whether this kind of statement oversteps that authority, I will leave that question to people better qualified to make that kind of decision. In any event, I admire the man's courage and integrity. He did what he felt needed to be done.

Now let’s see if other university presidents show this kind of guts. For a starter, I’d like to hear from Lehigh, which provides Michael Behe with a pulpit.