Editor’s note: The following was a statement sent to the Daily regarding Intelligent Design, signed by nearly 120 Iowa State faculty members. Most of the names signed have been removed because of space constraints.

We, the undersigned faculty members at Iowa State, reject all attempts to represent Intelligent Design as a scientific endeavor.

Advocates of Intelligent Design claim the position of our planet and the complexity of particular life forms and processes are such that they may only be explained by the existence of a creator or designer of the universe.

Such claims, however, are premised on 1) the arbitrary selection of features claimed to be engineered by a designer; 2) unverifiable conclusions about the wishes and desires of that designer; and 3) an abandonment by science of methodological naturalism.

Methodological naturalism, the view that natural phenomena can be explained without reference to supernatural beings or events, is the foundation of the natural sciences. The history of science contains many instances where complex natural phenomena were eventually understood only by adherence to methodological naturalism.

Whether one believes in a creator or not, views regarding a supernatural creator are, by their very nature, claims of religious faith, and not within the scope or abilities of science. We, therefore, urge all faculty members to uphold the integrity of our university of science and technology, and convey to students and the general public the importance of methodological naturalism in science and reject efforts to portray Intelligent Design as science.

Mark R. Ackermann

Professor

Department of Veterinary Psychology

Dean Adams

Assistant Professor

Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Organismal Biology

Roger K. Alexander

Associate Professor

Department of Mathematics

Robert J. Angelici

Distinguished Professor

Department of Chemistry

Daniel Ashlock

Associate Professor

Department of Mathematics

Hector I. Avalos

Associate Professor

Department of Religious Studies

Ethan Badman

Assistant Professor

Department of Chemistry

Jeffrey K. Beetham

Assistant Professor

Department of Veterinary Pathology

Roger Berger

Professor Emeritus

Department of Industrial and Manufacturing Systems Engineering

Cliff Bergman

Professor

Department of Mathematics

Terry L. Besser

Associate Professor

Department of Sociology

Amy Bix

Associate Professor

Department of History

Bryony Bonning

Professor

Department of Entomology

Bonnie S. Bowen

Adjunct Assistant Professor

Department of Ecology, Evolution & Organismal Biology

E. Charles Brummer

Associate Professor

Department of Agronomy

Joseph W. Burnett

Lecturer

Department of Chemistry

C. Lee Burras

Associate Professor

Department of Agronomy

Alexander Burstein

Assistant Professor

Department of Mathematics

Anson Call

Assistant Professor

Department of Art and Design

Cinzia Cervato

Associate Professor

Department of Geological and Atmospheric Sciences

Silvia R. Cianzio

Professor

Department of Agronomy

Michael P. Clough

Associate Professor

Department of Curriculum and Instruction

Joel R. Coats

Professor

Department of Entomology

Jim Colbert

Associate Professor

Department of Ecology, Evolution and Organismal Biology

John D. Corbett

Distinguished Professor

Department of Chemistry

Paula J. Curran

Associate Professor

Department of Art and Design

Dennis Dake

Professor

Department of Art and Design

Jane Dawson

Senior Lecturer

Department of Geological and Atmospheric Sciences

Vinay Dayal

Associate Professor

Department of Aerospace Engineering

Alan A. DiSpirito

Associate Professor

Department of Biochemistry, Biophysics and Molecular Biology

James H. Espenson

Distinguished Professor

Department of Chemistry

Nancy J. Evans

Professor

Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies

Steven L. Fales

Professor

Department of Agronomy

David Fern ndez-Baca

Professor

Department of Computer Science

Herbert J. Fromm

Charles F. Curtiss Distinguished Professor

Department of Biochemistry, Biophysics and Molecular Biology

Douglas A. Gentile

Assistant Professor

Department of Psychology

B. C. Gerstein

Professor Emeritus

Department of Chemistry

Jack Girton

Associate Professor

Department of Biochemistry, Biophysics and Molecular Biology

David M. Gradwohl

Professor Emeritus

Department of Anthropology

Sara M. Gregg

Assistant Professor

Department of History

William J. Gutowski

Professor

Dept. of Geological and Atmospheric Sciences, and Department of Agronomy

Richard B. Hall

Professor

Department of Natural Resource Ecology and Management

Chris Harding

Assistant Professor

Department of Geological and Atmospheric Sciences

Mark S. Hargrove

Associate Professor

Department of Biochemistry, Biophysics, and Molecular Biology

Thomas Harrington

Professor

Department of Plant Pathology

Rachel Haywood-Ferreira

Assistant Professor

Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures

Stan Henning

Assistant Professor

Department of Agronomy

Madeleine Henry

Professor

Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures

Kristen Hessler

Lecturer

Department of Biotechnology

Matthew G. Hill

Assistant Professor

Department of Anthropology

Gordon Hull

Lecturer

Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies

Neal R. Iverson

Professor

Department of Geological and Atmospheric Sciences

Carl Jacobson

Professor

Department of Geological & Atmospheric Sciences

Jean-Luc Jannink

Assistant Professor

Department of Agronomy