Faculty object to Gonzales' hiring

LUBBOCK, Texas (AP) — Dozens of current and former faculty at Texas Tech University have signed a petition objecting to the hiring of former U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales.

Walter Schaller said Thursday he began the petition because he was troubled by ethical issues that plagued Gonzales, including the question of torture at Guantanamo Bay and the firing of U.S. attorneys whose politics were not in line with the Bush administration.

Gonzales, the Bush administration's attorney general, will teach a political science class on contemporary issues in the executive branch and recruit and retain minority students at Tech.

Schaller anticipates the number of signatures — currently the petition has 74 current and former faculty members — will grow once school begins next month in Lubbock.

Gonzales was the nation's first Hispanic attorney general.