CU To Fire Ward Churchill

Professor Has Vowed To Sue If School Fired Him

 

BOULDER, Colo. -- The University of Colorado announced Monday that it will dismiss controversial professor Ward Churchill.

 

"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.

 

Churchill has 10 days to appeal, which entails making a request to have the university president or chancellor forward the recommendation to the faculty senate Committee on Privilege and Tenure. A special panel will then conduct hearings on the matter and make a recommendation to the president on whether grounds for dismissal are supported.

 

Another committee found Churchill guilty of research misconduct and another panel recommended that he be fired because of "repeated and deliberate" infractions of scholarship rules.

 

 

Churchill's attorney promptly called a news conference Monday afternoon to announce that his client does intend to appeal to the tenure committee. He also mentioned going to court.

 

Churchill, who ignited a firestorm by calling some of the World Trade Center victims "little Eichmanns" in an essay he wrote after Sept. 11, 2001, has vowed to sue the school if he was fired.

 

"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 all completely bogus. Let's see if a jury and a Federal District Court agrees 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."

 

The tenured professor of ethnic studies has repeatedly denied all accusations of misconduct.

 

He told The Associate Press in mid-June, "The basic situation here is that there was a call by high officials in the state, notably the governor but hardly restricted to the governor, for my termination clear back last February, whether or not it was legal. They were willing to take the heat and go to court if necessary to stand behind an illegitimate investigation."

 

When his essay was brought to light in January 2005, Gov. Bill Owens, state lawmakers and relatives of Sept. 11, 2001 victims in New York immediately denounced it. University officials concluded Churchill could not be fired for the essay, but in March 2005 they launched an investigation into allegations of plagiarism and other research misconduct.

 

"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."

 

Churchill called the investigation "a kangaroo court" designed to reach the conclusion that he should be fired.

 

"A university is a marketplace of ideas, a place where controversy is no stranger," said Distefano. "An opinioned discourse is applauded. But as is true of all liberties enjoyed by all Americans with freedom, comes responsibility."

 

Owens supported the chancellor's decision in a statement Monday. "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," Owens said. "Hopefully we can say good riddance to Ward Churchill once and for all."

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Goodbye and good riddence

:finger :finger

That guy sucks.

f*** him.

 

Good bye!

HOORAY!!!!!!

 

 

GOOD RIDDANCE s***BAG!!!

Good Bye and so long s*** bag

 

:finger

that dude has built a career on lies, both about himself and others. enjoy the rest of your disgraceful life, ward!

I'm not sure how Churchill even got a tenured position at CU in the first place. Unlike the vast majority of professors, he doesn't have a Ph.D. (he has an M.A. from Sangamon State University... not exactly Harvard). Yet, he not only became a fully-tenured professor at a Big 12 university, but he was also a department head. He must've had incriminating photos of the dean or chancellor, because there's almost no way in hell that somebody of his laughable educational background should've even been given a tenure-track position.

It's not that uncommon for non PhD's to become tenured at major universities.

It's not that uncommon for non PhD's to become tenured at major universities.

 

I've attended school/worked at four of them and can't say that I don't know of any. And I'll bet that those that do only have Master's degrees didn't get them from third-rate institutions.

I've attended school/worked at four of them and can't say that I don't know of any.

 

Which means that you Do know of Some. So what are you arguing about?.

Which means that you Do know of Some. So what are you arguing about?.

 

:banghead

I've attended school/worked at four of them and can't say that I don't know of any. And I'll bet that those that do only have Master's degrees didn't get them from third-rate institutions.

 

University of Kansas.

Michigan State University.

and the small liberal arts college I went to as well....

Otterbein College.

 

Is it common for new hires to be less than a PhD? No. But then again, there was a time where the degree wasn't necessarily a prerequisite for hiring.

Is it common for new hires to be less than a PhD? No. But then again, there was a time where the degree wasn't necessarily a prerequisite for hiring.

 

Is it also common for an assistant professor to be granted tenure after only ONE year? The earliest I've ever seen is three.

Depends on where he's from. I'm not defending Churchill, I'm just saying I've seen M.A.'s tenured. Depending on the field, it happens more than you might imagine.

Not much I can say about the Ward Churchill stuff that'd be new, so let's go with this for the topic being discussed again.

 

I've attended school/worked at four of them and can't say that I don't know of any. And I'll bet that those that do only have Master's degrees didn't get them from third-rate institutions.

 

while it is no harvard as per your previous statement, sangamon state is not a third rate institution. and it is now the university of illinois @ springfield...