Termination,
suspension possible for Churchill
Governor calls for controversial
professor to resign
By Jennifer Brown
Denver Post Staff Writer
5/16/2006
University of Colorado
professor Ward Churchill plagiarized, fabricated and falsified material
and was disrespectful of American Indian traditions in his writings, a
report released today said.
Three of the five scholars who examined the ethnic studies professor's
work for four months believe Churchill's academic misconduct is serious
enough that CU could fire him from his tenured job, the report said.
But two of those three said the most appropriate sanction would be to
suspend him without pay for five years.
The other two committee members did not believe Churchill's research
misconduct was serious enough to warrant termination. They suggested
the university suspend him without pay for two years.
"Churchill has tarnished the title of professor and his future at C.U.
is appropriately in question," said Gov. Bill Owens in a statement,
after the panel's findings were announced.
“Unfortunately, as the lengthy process continues, the prolonged
presence of Ward Churchill at C.U. besmirches the reputation of a fine
university and its many outstanding teachers. Confronted with the
committee's findings of falsification, fabrication and plagiarism,
Churchill should resign,” Owens said.
Boulder interim chancellor Phil DiStefano plans to announce a decision
on Churchill's fate next month.
The committee investigated seven allegations against Churchill,
including concerns about his writings about Indian law and a smallpox
epidemic at Fort Clark.
The committee found that Churchill's "misconduct was deliberate and not
a matter of an occasional careless error."
It found "serious deviation from accepted practices" in university
research and that Churchill did not comply with established standards
regarding author credit on publications.
The five-member ad hoc committee was formed by CU's Standing Committee
on Research Misconduct, which determined in September there was enough
evidence against Churchill for a full-blown investigation.
The Standing Committee rejected two of the nine original allegations
forwarded by the chancellor. The dropped charges concerned copyright
infringement and whether Churchill misrepresented himself as an Indian.
The Standing Committee now is looking into recent allegations against
Churchill from activist and author Ernesto Vigil.
Committee members have not announced whether Vigil's six accusations -
among them that Churchill wrongly described peasants in El Salvador as
Indians and that he got the wrong name of a village - merit an in-depth
probe.
Churchill's attorney, David Lane, warned in a seven-page letter to CU
last week that he would take the university to federal court if it did
not end the "latest round of witch hunting."
Lane accused CU of dragging the 15-month investigation on too long,
drawing accusations from anyone with a personal or political vendetta
against the professor. He said CU should drop Vigil's claims.
The investigation into Churchill's work began because of controversy
over his essay comparing some Sept. 11, 2001, World Trade Center
victims to Nazi bureaucrat Adolf Eichmann who managed plans to
exterminate European Jews. The essay surfaced in the public eye in
January 2005.
University administrators determined free-speech rights prevented
Churchill from being punished for the essay, but regents voted in
February 2005 to review Churchill's work.
Staff writer Jennifer Brown can be reached at 303-820-1593 or
jenbrown@denverpost.com.