almost makes me hope he gets away with it and then SUES CU for a Billion dollars... cause they sure deserve it!!!
Posted on 08/24/2005 8:10:05 AM PDT by freespirited
University of Colorado professor Ward Churchill has two weeks to respond to a committee's recommendation that he undergo a full investigation for seven counts of alleged plagiarism and fabrication.
The professor Tuesday called the status of the investigation against him "very encouraging," partly because two other claims — including an allegation that he falsified an American Indian identity — have been recommended for dismissal.
But an expert on academic fraud said the case against Churchill sounds serious.
"Any claims moving forward are serious because my sense of these proceedings is that you really make every effort to see the claim through the eyes of the party who's being accused," said Peter Hoffer, a history professor at the University of Georgia who wrote a book last year titled "Past Imperfect: Facts, Fictions and Fraud in the Writing of American History."
"Because academia is collegial, you try to bend over backward not to go forward, and the higher-profile the case, the harder you work not to pursue it," he said. "If they're going forward, that suggests that they felt pretty strongly."
Churchill's attorney, David Lane, said a preliminary report from CU's Standing Committee on Research Misconduct showed that the committee intends to appoint a new group to do a full, four-month investigation into the seven allegations.
He said, though, that the committee members "found no facts against Churchill; they simply said they don't know."
Several scholars have accused the tenured ethnic studies professor of plagiarism.
One also says Churchill misrepresented a federal law on Indian land distribution, and another accuses him of repeatedly misstating prior research to back his claim that the Army intentionally spread smallpox among Mandan Indians in 1837.
Churchill has denied all the allegations, saying his research is sound. Some of the works he is accused of plagiarizing, he has said, are taken from pieces he originally wrote for other scholars.
The CU committee will take Churchill's responses into account and is expected to vote in the next two weeks to finalize the recommendations.
Committee chairman Joseph Rosse would not talk specifically about the case or confirm the findings because of confidentiality rules. He said if the committee votes to move the inquiry forward, it has 30 days to appoint a separate three- to five-member group to do the full investigation.
Two claims against Churchill are recommended for dismissal: copyright infringement and falsification of an American Indian identity.
Experts said the ethnicity investigation would have been unprecedented. Lane called it "the most obnoxious allegation."
Hoffer said ethnicity is subjective, and he's not surprised the committee isn't pursuing that allegation.
A firestorm erupted early this year regarding an online essay Churchill published comparing victims of the 2001 World Trade Center attacks to notorious Nazi bureaucrat Adolf Eichmann just days after the attacks.
The essay prompted Gov. Bill Owens to call for Churchill's ouster, and the school began an inquiry into his work.
Officials found that his essay was protected by the First Amendment but referred the allegations of academic fraud to the misconduct committee.
The investigation will result in final recommendations to administrators, ranging from no action to sanctions to dismissal.
Owens spokesman Mark Salley said he's "glad the committee recognized the charges against Churchill have merit but sorry to see it may be another five months before they complete their investigation."
Contact Camera Staff Writer Elizabeth Mattern Clark at (303) 473-1351 or clarke@dailycamera.com
Note to all CU applicants: It is now ok to say that you are a minority in order to get admitted, or get financial aid. The University has now said that ethnicity is subjective.
Dizzy yet?--BUMP
Apparently one's heritage is now a "choice". Perhaps we should advise students to claim some "black blood" so they can take advantage of all the affirmative action programs. After all if you're a rich black you still have that special need, what bull sh*t!
I've said ever since this started that the only unforgiveable sin in academia is plagiarism. That, and nothing else, is what will get Ward Churchill fired.
By the time Larry, Moe & Curley get through "investigating" ol' Chief Churchill will be eligible for retirement pension(paid for by our tax dollars) & Social Security! LOL
meanwhile, CU is losing enrollments and alumni donation$...
duhhhhhhhh
What did you bump, I fell down spinning like a top
almost makes me hope he gets away with it and then SUES CU for a Billion dollars... cause they sure deserve it!!!
Have you seen the Dalhousie University analysis of the plagiarism of Fay Cohen's work? Pirate Ballerina has it.
http://www.pirateballerina.com/blog/entry.php?id=98
Yeah, the pirate ballerina site has a lot of good info on Churchill, including how his resume changed in regards to his service in Vietnam. He went from being a battalion clerk, in charge of writing the monthly battalion newsletter to being a MAC-V Recondo-trained ranger.
If Micheal Graham loses his job because of a nothing comment, then Churchill should be deported for all the lies and filth he spouts. So until then, every resume with the University of Colorado that comes across my desk will continue to go into the trash. Baldur von Schirach would be proud of the university and Churchill.
Too funny for words. Hey! I've decided I'd like to be an Aborigine! Anyone who objects is guilty of callously denying my right to "subjectivity."
The logic just does not work.
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