A Colleague of Alger Hiss? How Ward Churchill Got Tenure
Of course two administrators went around the normal procedures in hiring the University of Colorado professor who went on to compare September 11 victims to "little Eichmanns." Although Churchill's scholarship is under fire now for alleged sloppiness and fabrication, CU officials in 1990 considered him an expert in American Indian studies who might be lost to another school. "Ward is certainly being courted by other universities as a significant Indian scholar and teacher. It would be a shame to lose him because of a standard which may be irrelevant in this case," Howe wrote Middleton in an e-mail, referring to Churchill's lack of a doctorate. The correspondence between Howe and Middleton was among documents released to KHOW radio talk show host Dan Caplis, who shared them with the Rocky Mountain News. Churchill had worked as an administrtor and lecturer at Colorado University since the late 1970s. His salary is now $94,000. His income as a lecturer will likely rise as a result of his notoriety. The e-mails between Howe and Middleton were exchanged between May 16 and May 18, 1990. Churchill was informed in a letter dated June 5, 1990, that he had been selected to teach two courses in American Indian studies the following spring. Then-Chancellor James Corbridge recommended tenure for Churchill in April 1991. It was approved by the CU regents that month. Such short-cuts to tenure may be appropriate for senior faculty tenured at another institution but not for someone of Churchill's standing. Here is the speculative Alger Hiss connection: His honorary doctorate from Alfred University in 1992 may have been an attempt to shore up his scholarly standing. He had ties with Alfred's Human Studies Division, which had earlier attempted to get the Cold War traitor Alger Hiss hired full-time, according to a long-time Alfred University faculty member, in a phone interview with me today. Fierce opposition blocked the Hiss appointment. What must be emphasized here is not the fate of one crackpot professor who happened to be caught in the public spotlight but rather the collapse of academic standards his hiring signifies. Why did the trustees rubber stamp his appointment? Insofar as these are political appointments to a public university, why shouldn't political responsibility be assessed? Who assumes responsibility-- whether for Churchill or Hiss? (Recall Claremont's hate-crime hoaxer Kerri Dunn.) In other words, this isn't about removing a Saddam as head of state; it is about regime change, a profounder and far more difficult task. Note the fine work of the American Council for Trustees and Alumni in attempting to bring responsibility to campuses. Comments
Very interesting. As long as you're on the subject, here's the official statement about Ward Churchill from the American Indian Movement, which has been tracking his fraudulent misrepresentation of himself as a Native American for some time now:
http://www.aimovement.org/moipr/churchill05.html
Adam Fuller | February 16, 2005 | 11:02 PM
Is not the fraud that accompanies unscrupulous hiring on campus the biggest threat to "academic freedom"?
Brian W. Stinson | February 17, 2005 | 06:51 AM |
