Among the thousands of pieces of mail that pour into newsrooms every year, there are always a few, usually thick, booklets from various colleges. The booklets, which list virtually every professor on staff and their areas of expertise, are always accompanied by a nice letter from the school’s public relations department that urges reporters to use the guide if they are working on a story and need an expert to talk to.

They are a great help to reporters, who are always looking for experts. And they are great PR for the schools. They get their names mentioned, usually in a favorable light.

There is seemingly no downside.

Except at Colorado State University, where apparently, if you are the school’s most visible professor and you happen to be a skeptic of global warming, then the school suddenly doesn’t want to be of any help at all.

That is the case with Dr. William Gray, who, other than the football coach, is quite likely the only recognizable name on the CSU staff. Gray has become an institution for his annual hurricane forecasts.

He’s also said that global warming is nothing more than faux science designed to increase funding for certain university professors. Gray believes global warming is a natural cycle and we will soon enter a cooling period.

Those thoughts, of course, don’t sit well with the zeitgeist — or the powers that be at CSU. They have said Gray’s work eats up too much of the school’s public relations time and his work will no longer be promoted.

Give us a break. Public relations departments are in business for no other reason than to create and promote staff members who are doing work that is of interest to the largest number of people. That’s exactly what Gray does with his hurricane forecasts.

CSU would be well advised to continue to promote Gray. His views on global warming will stand or fall on their own in the marketplace of ideas. His hurricane forecasts are legendary and are among CSU’s few claims to fame.