All honors courses will be reviewed for appropriateness of teaching style, teachers’ qualifications and course materials, said a university spokesperson.
Joan Todd, executive director of public relations, said the reviews will occur before the semester the course is taught, and courses for Spring Semester 2014 are already under review.
Four faculty subcommittees will conduct the reviews in distinct areas: social sciences, humanities, natural sciences and colloquia.
The Discovery Institute, an intelligent design organization, sent a letter to Ball State officials in mid-September asking for a review of four classes, and the university will be looking at the four in addition to next semester’s courses.
The institute’s criticisms were based on how the university responded to bias allegations against assistant astronomy professor Eric Hedin. The institute defended Hedin based on Ball State’s academic freedom code.
Hedin’s textbooks and course materials were examined by a review team and provost Terry King, so the institute questioned another class’ texts.
The institute said the class HON 390, “Dangerous Ideas,” by English associate professor Paul Ranieri promoted anti-theistic ideas through the main text of the class, “What is your Dangerous Idea?”
Hedin’s qualifications as an astronomy professor to discuss religious ideas were also examined, so the institute brought up three professors it believes teach areas outside of their field of study.
They include English assistant professor Brent Blackwell’s HON 296: “‘Old’ and ‘New’” Science,”associate biology professor Ann Blakey’s HON 297: “The SustainABLES: Air, Biodiversity, Land, Energy, & the Seas [Water]” and assistant biology professor James Olesen’s 298: “The Biology of Life.”
