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  Home Page » News » Churchill Asks To Teach Again At CU

Churchill asks to teach again at CU

Professor fired for plagiarism

by Ivan Moreno
Associated Press Writer DENVER - Ward Churchill, the former Colorado professor fired after comparing some Sept. 11 victims to a Nazi, testified Wednesday that he wants his job back without special privileges, but warned more legal battles would ensue if the university retaliates against him upon his return.

"I will stand up for my rights, which is to say, the law," Churchill said during his reinstatement hearing in Denver District Court.

The University of Colorado is opposing Churchill's reinstatement request despite an April verdict in which jurors concluded he was wrongly fired for an essay in which he called World Trade Center victims "little Eichmanns," a reference to a Nazi who helped orchestrate the Holocaust. The university maintains they fired Churchill for academic fraud.

The university administration and some faculty don't want him back, and CU attorney Patrick O'Rourke said Churchill's relationship with the school "would not be an amicable one" if he's on campus again. The university also expressed concern that it would face more lawsuits from Churchill if he's allowed to return.

Chief Denver District Judge Larry J. Naves is expected to rule next week on whether Churchill will be reinstated. He also has the option of awarding Churchill "front pay," money for the years Churchill could've worked at the university.

Jurors awarded Churchill $1 in damages, but the lawsuit did not settle his job status. Attorneys for both sides presented witnesses Wednesday.

Emma Perez, chairwoman of the ethnic-studies department, would be Churchill's boss if he returns. She supported his reinstatement, saying he's viewed "as a hero" by professors across the country because of his stance on academic freedom.

Perez admittedly was a staunch Churchill supporter long before his firing.

Other professors testified against Churchill, saying he would harm the university's reputation and force teachers to quit. But none of the professors questioned by the university could name any teachers who said they would leave the school if Churchill returned.

Churchill's lead attorney, David Lane, spent most of the day assailing university officials opposed to Churchill's reinstatement as "constitutional violators."

Churchill was fired in 2007 after the university conducted an investigation into his scholarly work. University officials say they found a pattern of research misconduct that included plagiarism and fabricated research on Native Americans.

Churchill denied the allegations. The university's investigation did not include the Sept. 11 essay, which officials said was protected speech.

Churchill was a tenured professor of ethnic studies. His attorneys have said they want a quick ruling so he can return to school this fall.