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Ward Churchill Fired From University of Colorado
"Today, I issued to Professor Churchill a notice of intent to dismiss him from his faculty position at the University of Colorado Boulder," CU Interim Chancellor Phil DiStefano said Monday afternoon. That would end the CU career of Ward "little Eichmanns" Churchill, who promises that he will sue the school. But first, he gets 10 days to appeal. DiStefano wrote in a statement: "Professor Churchill may request within 10 days to have President Brown or me forward this recommendation to the Faculty Senate Committee on Privilege and Tenure. If Professor Churchill does so, a special panel will then conduct hearings about this matter and make a recommendation to the president about whether the grounds for dismissal are supported."
Churchill's lawyer said in a press conference that Churchill will indeed appeal, and that he will also take the case to the people, so to speak. "We're going to a real court because we can trust juries to do the right thing," said Churchill's attorney David Lane. "Churchill says this is all completely bogus. Let's see if a jury and a federal district court agree with the committee. Or see if everything that's happened here is retaliation for Ward Churchill's First Amendment free speech relating to 9/11."
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The entire Churchill episode began when it came to light that he wrote, in an essay about 9/11, that those who died in the World Trade Center bombing were "little Eichmanns." That statement was found to be protected under free speech rights; however, the trouble was not over for Ward Churchill. "A committee last year began to look at his writings including his essay on 9/11," said DiStefano. "We determined his writings were protected under the First Amendment. However, during that process there were allegations of research misconduct."
Last month, an investigative subcommittee concluded that Churchill repeatedly fabricated his research, plagiarized others' work and strayed from the "bedrock principles of scholarship," reports the Denver Post. Churchill labeled the investigation "a kangaroo court" designed to reach the conclusion that he should be fired, wrote the Post. DiStefano stated further "Faculty members from this institution and others across the country enjoy the freedom of expression that is the foundation of what they do in their scholarly pursuits."
He added at the press conference, "We want to protect academic freedom and freedom of expression. However . . . we take research misconduct very seriously." Colorado Gov. Bill Owens said, "I applaud the Chancellor's decision. If the university is the marketplace of ideas, then Mr. Churchill is the rotten fruit among hundreds of good apples. Hopefully we can say good riddance to Ward Churchill once and for all."
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