07-16-2009, 10:56 AM
http://www.chieftain.com/articles/2009/0...288144.txt
Quote:Published: July 08, 2009 11:54 pm
Good riddance
By THE PUEBLO CHIEFTAIN
GOOD RIDDANCE to bad rubbish readily comes to mind now that the controversial Ward Churchill has lost his bid to return to the University of Colorado faculty.
Denver District Judge Larry Naves refused Tuesday to reinstate the ethnic studies professor, notorious for his description of the victims of the 9/11 attacks in 2001 as "Little Eichmanns." It was despicable and unfair to the victims to be compared with Adolf Eichmann, the Nazi who helped orchestrate the Holocaust under Adolf Hitler.
Mr. Churchill later was fired for academic misconduct, including plagiarism of others' research. The judge noted that in earlier proceedings, a jury had awarded Mr. Churchill only $1 in damages for CU's alleged retaliation against him for exercising his free-speech rights.
The discredited professor will not be returning to his $96,000-per-year job nor will he be entitled to a financial settlement. Despite Mr. Churchill's hollow claim that he did not sue for money, that is, in fact, what the case was all about. He got a measly $1 for his efforts. CU's decision to fire him was all about the integrity of the Boulder faculty. Judge Naves agreed that reinstating this awful man would weaken CU's ability to hold students and faculty accountable for misconduct.
Nor would we want our children and families exposed to this academic fraud. Mr. Churchill vowed to appeal, and we trust the Colorado Supreme Court will uphold the decisions of both CU and Judge Naves.
It's too bad the controversy lasted as long as it did, but that's often the way of academic processes. At long last, we're just glad with the result.