Posted on 03/15/2005 12:45:14 PM PST by ajolympian2004
Any proceedings begun against the fiery professor would be protracted
By Dave Curtin Denver Post Staff Writer
With negotiations for a university-funded early retirement buyout of Ward Churchill's contract all but dead and prospects for a privately funded settlement dim, it appears increasingly likely that the incendiary professor will be on campus for the foreseeable future.
Short of early retirement, any other options will trigger protracted proceedings that could easily take the 57-year-old professor into his retirement years at age 62.
"Ward Churchill likes his job. He's not going anywhere," Churchill's attorney, David Lane, said Monday.
CU on Monday confirmed that a review of Churchill's scholarship will not be completed before March 28.
After that review, interim CU-Boulder chancellor Phil DiStefano will have three options: do nothing, issue an intent to dismiss Churchill for cause, or forward the matter to a faculty research misconduct committee.
In any case, Churchill would continue to draw his $94,000 annual salary.
And the last two scenarios could result in months of review and appeal, according to university bylaws governing faculty who have tenure - which Churchill received in 1991.
"The goal of due process is not speed but fairness," CU Regent Michael Carrigan said.
"There is a lot riding on this. There is quality control on one hand and someone's career on the line on the other hand," said Lloyd Burton, chairman of a CU-Denver tenure committee for the Graduate School of Public Affairs.
"The faculty takes its role of self-policing the profession very seriously, but I also think given the gravity of the situation, it won't be on anyone's back burner."
And if the university dismisses Churchill after all that, Lane has promised to take the matter to the U.S. Supreme Court if necessary, which has held that tenure is a "property right" and cannot be taken without due process.
The review of Churchill's work conducted by DiStefano, arts and sciences dean Todd Gleeson and law school dean David Getches began Feb. 3, after the university and public became aware of a 3-year-old Churchill essay in which he compares some victims of the Sept. 11 attacks to a Nazi. The expected 30-day review has now been pushed back three times.
So far, the committee has not asked the professor to explain his side of any of the complaints it might be reviewing.
"If they are investigating Ward Churchill, you would think they would want to talk to Ward Churchill. Apparently they are not troubling themselves with that," Lane said. "I can only presume this is being put together by people only interested in posturing CU in the best position possible for future litigation."
Meanwhile, the possibility of a privately funded buyout of Churchill's contract dimmed Monday.
"Given the current situation, I don't envision or see a way the foundation would be approached about a financial settlement," said CU Foundation president Michael Byram. "It's an internal university matter that's not appropriate for the foundation to be involved in."
Any individual could approach Churchill and persuade him to leave for a cash payment - with or without university involvement. Failing that unlikely scenario, if DiStefano decides to initiate dismissal proceedings, Churchill will request a hearing before the Faculty Senate Committee of Privilege and Tenure, Lane said. That committee is composed of representatives from all colleges and campuses.
If Churchill chooses to have a formal hearing, CU must immediately contribute up to $20,000 to provide Churchill with an attorney, according to CU documents. Lane said he is ready for that process if it comes to that.
"If it goes all the way to a tenure-review committee, the regents - the politicians - will be taken out of the loop," Lane said. "It will be reviewed by professors, who are more inclined not to be swayed by politics, who believe in academic freedom, tenure and the First Amendment."
DiStefano also could decide there is insufficient cause for dismissal and decide on a lesser sanction such as referral to a faculty Standing Committee on Research Misconduct - another months-long process, which could end in nothing or send the matter to the Privilege and Tenure Committee for dismissal proceedings.
Staff writer Dave Curtin can be reached at dcurtin@denverpost.com.
bump
Let him stay and teach. This cigar store Indian is irrelevant to everyone except a few misinformed college kids.
Churchill is reason enough to terminate "Tenure"!
I don't have it. Most everyone I know does not have a guaranteed job. So why should this traitor?
Tar and feather the bastard and put him on the rail to Canada.
bttt
Once you get tenure, your feet are in concrete. I suppose it basically doesnt matter if you lie and cheat to get it.
Churchill says he likes his job , sure he does, it beats what he is qualified to do, shovel crap. Wait thats what he is doing.
Just don't send your children to this pathetic excuse of a University.
This is the argument that I think is best in regards to CU and Ward Churchill, WC is a toilet in Britain ya know?
Anywho, what is a CU degree worth now? I mean a minority studies degree is about as useless a degree as you can get but one from CU? With Ward Churchill an ex-department head? As one of your professors? You want to hire that 22-23 year old into your organization if that was on of their professors?
Plus, who knows what kind of core ciricula CU has. How many students have to take a course in this department regardless of their major? What is their worth going to be on the open market when interviewers ask "So, was Ward Churchill one of your professors?" and the kids answer yes? If anyone ever came through the interview process with me and didn't denounce him as a kook and told me they had to take the class mentally I'm already thinking "Thanks for your time, we'll be in touch."
This is what's dangerous. Forget the academic freedom, which he has, forget the first ammendment, which he has, he's placed a burden as deep or deeper on his students lives as though they were freed slaves. They're always going to have the stigma of being one of Ward Churchill's students. Doesn't matter what they do in life, that resume says CU and so does that diploma.
You know, many former SS men went on in life to live lives as normal citizens after WW II. However there were countless people in the world that never let them forget they were SS men. Years from now people will not forget that many CU students were Ward Churchill's proteges and did nothing to distance themselves or denounce his hateful speech. Why should we not understand why many good Germans do nothing when many "good" Americans do nothing about the devil in their midst?
I agree, let's vote with our feet. Don't let them kid you; the administration of this school knew who this guy was when they hired him, retained him, and granted him tenure. Now they act like his semi-literate rantings are all new to them. Let them suffer with this idiot as long as he wants to stay.
I agree, let's vote with our feet. Don't let them kid you; the administration of this school knew who this guy was when they hired him, retained him, and granted him tenure. Now they act like his semi-literate rantings are all new to them. Let them suffer with this idiot as long as he wants to stay.
The entire point of Dutschke's (and later Gramsci's) "Long March Through The Institutions" is that once subverted, institutions such as academia will stay subverted. It makes absolutely no practical difference that Churchill is a liar, a cheat, and a thief - he's got his cushy 97 large and he's going to keep it and pass it on when he can. Giving up the departmental chair was, in that respect, a bit of a blow but he's going to be leeching off the taxpayers he curses until he reaches retirement, and then he will resort to leeching off the taxpayers. It's a sweet con if you can manage it.
Hmmmm, Lane is threatening to take it to the Supreme Court if they fire Churchill because tenure is a property right?
well methinks all those opposed to tenure, in principal or who oppose positions for life without proving merit, or all those who think tenure had limits, which ought to be defined if not already, should fund the opposition to Mr. Lane's threat, let's take the issue of tenure to the Supreme Court after GW's changed the composition of that institution
we got some conservative George Soros type wallets out there?
Yoo hoo, Mr. Lane, I would hope other college professors who may sit in judgment of Mr. Churchill would not countenance academic fraud, no doubt Mr. Churchill may have even stolen the job of one of those actually qualified professors
And do we kid ourselves by thinking he is the ONLY one that CU has on staff of this ilk? I bet there are a dozen more just like him or worse.
Hey Colorado Conservatives....figure out a way to rid your state of this evil, ill, useless eater. He needs to be deported to Cuba or any commie haven or end up .... hmmmm....better hold that post/thought...
My guess is that Churchill won't be fired, mostly because of the precedent it will set. He will be portrayed as a brave victim of government/rightwing/authoritarian conspiracy, and if he's fired due to unpopular opinions, then academic freedom is imperiled for everyone (I work at a university and have heard this song a hundred times) but in fact, it's that if one academic fraud is fired the rest of the academic frauds might be as well, and believe me, there are a lot of the latter.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.