MUNCIE, Ind. (AP): Ball State University has granted tenure to a faculty member who was ordered to stop teaching intelligent design in a science course.

Eric Hedin, an associate professor of physics and astronomy, was at the center of debate in 2013 when Ball State University President Jo Ann Gora decided intelligent design wasn’t an appropriate subject for a science class. She said intelligent design is overwhelmingly regarded as a religious belief by the scientific community and not a scientific theory.

The (Muncie) Star Press reports that Hedin was hired into a contract faculty position in 2002 and then into a tenure-track position in 2012.

The Ball State faculty handbook says faculty can be granted tenure after a seven-year probationary period if they demonstrate achievement in teaching, scholarship and service in a professional capacity.