Inside Higher Ed:
The American Civil Liberties Union and its Colorado chapter have jointly written the University of Colorado Board of Regents, urging it not to fire Ward Churchill. The board meets tomorrow and is expected to fire the controversial ethnic studies professor over allegations of research misconduct, which he denies. Churchill maintains that he is being forced out because of his controversial writings about 9/11 and other topics. The ACLU letter acknowledged that Churchill’s job is endangered, technically, because of the findings of misconduct. But the ACLU said that the inquiry took place in a “poisoned atmosphere” in which his 9/11 comments led many politicians to seek his ouster. “The investigation of Professor Churchill’s scholarship cannot be separated from the indefensible lynch-mob furor that generated the initial calls for his termination,” the ACLU wrote. “Firing Professor Churchill in these circumstances does not sent a message about academic rigor and standards of professional integrity. On the contrary, it sends a warning to the academic community that politically unpopular dissenters speak out at their peril.”
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