Posted on 03/11/2005 7:52:00 AM PST by freespirited
Embattled University of Colorado professor Ward Churchill has reached an agreement with the school on the dollar terms of a buyout proposal - now both sides have to decide whether they can accept the implications of making a deal, according to sources familiar with the talks.
Three people close to the negotiations between lawyers for Churchill and CU said the sides had agreed to a dollar figure "much less" than $1 million and, perhaps, less than $500,000.
But in addition to the money, Churchill wants to make sure his reputation isn't impugned as he leaves CU and that the university puts out no statement denigrating his scholarship or his right to free speech.
And while the CU Board of Regents previously authorized the negotiations and a maximum cap for a settlement, some members of that body must still be persuaded that paying Churchill to leave is the right thing to do, according to people close to the talks.
The precise outlines of the monetary agreement were not clear Thursday. They could include a cash payment, a university subsidy of early retirement for the 57-year-old Churchill and other benefits, or a combination of all of it, plus attorney fees.
Regardless of its form, should reluctant regents overcome their objections and the settlement become complete, it will immediately draw the ire of politicians and others.
They have denounced Churchill's comparison of some 9/11 victims to a top Nazi and pointed to several of his speeches and writings that have been interpreted by some as encouraging violence against the United States.
Gov. Bill Owens on Thursday repeated his opposition to a settlement with Churchill but acknowledged through a spokesman, "It's the Board of Regents' call."
As CU's budget works its way through the state legislature, some Republican members have already threatened to cut funds from that budget to reflect their displeasure with Churchill's employment and talk of a settlement.
Though indications Thursday were that the payment to Churchill would be made with university funds, the president of CU's private fundraising foundation, Michael Byram, said he's willing to consider any request by the university to pay it. He would not say whether the foundation has been approached.
"If I was the university, I would consider every option available to resolve this," Byram said. Then, referring to legislative discussions of trimming CU's budget, he said: "Generally, I'd hate to see the governor or anyone else try to blackmail someone."
A settlement allows the CU regents to avoid potentially lengthy and costly legal proceedings in an effort to revoke Churchill's tenure, or the political ramifications of keeping him on the faculty.
Churchill, who holds a master's degree but not a doctorate, received his tenure much more quickly than most CU professors when supporters in the College of Arts and Sciences feared they would lose him to another ethnic-studies program in 1991.
Since then, questions have been raised about whether he really is an American Indian as he has claimed. Two professors at other universities have questioned his scholarship, and - while students consistently give him high marks as a teacher and his peer reviews have been unfailingly positive - media accounts have examined everything from his demeanor to his artistic and military careers, motivating Churchill to seek a way out of the spotlight, according to the sources.
Churchill's attorney, David Lane, on Thursday would only acknowledge that talks are ongoing.
Churchill, who began at CU in 1980 and became a tenured professor in 1991, now makes $94,242 a year after resigning his position as head of the university's ethnic-studies department shortly after news of his 9/11 essay was published.
CU would like to determine whether a settlement can be completed before a three-member panel reviewing Churchill's scholarship and speeches writes or issues a report, the sources said.
The report has been pushed back to next week.
If interim chancellor Phil DiStefano issues a notice of intent to dismiss Churchill, it will trigger a multilevel peer review and appeal process afforded tenured professors that can drag on for years.
This is obscene.
Fire him for lying on his resume and plagiarism. If he wants to sue, let him.
I can't believe they are paying this guy a dime. If tenure is that difficult to get around, then something needs to change. The man is a liar, a fraud, and a plagiarer. What more do they need to simply show him the door?
Barf alert....he should be thown out on his ratty asss and no money, none, zero, your fired bitch!
Where will the payoff money come from? The tax payers?
I'll say it agian. CU is a joke and if I see any resumes with that college on it come across my desk, its going right in the trash.
This is like the Italians negotiating with the terrorists. The money they give to Churchill will only be used to fund anti-American activities here at home. That is, if it doesn't go DIRECTLY to terrorists.
But, since apparently he sold dope to the administration personnel years ago, they can't boot him out on his fake indian butt. I don't know if the charge is true, but is a plausible explanation for the president of the university, a woman about Churchill's age, resigning.
Impugning his reputation as a nazi, a liar, a terrorist sympathizer, and all-round scumbag? Any change would have to be an improvement!
I don't see why they just don't do the right thing and give this clown the gate. From what's come out, there is more than sufficient evidence to fire him for cause. And I'm not talking about his controversial statements, although, as a representative of his University, those have brought disrepute upon his institution, it is up to his employer to decide if those constitute grounds for dismissal (in most jobs it would). But I am talking about plagiarism, dishonesty, and hack scholarship.
I didn't think we negotiated with terrorists!
I guess he likes capitalism after all.
When G*d wants to punish someone, He makes them famous first...
They shouldn't give him one thin dime..
Once again I must rise to the defense of comedic entertainers everywhere. Using the term "clown" as a pejorative is wrong and unfair to those of us who regard clowning as a noble, therapeutic career path (except during history class and at the dinner table when the goal is to get your little sister in trouble).
Please be more sensitive to the more demonstrably witty among us.
This piece of work got himself into academics to hide between the phrase "free speech" in order to promote treason and then he's paid off rather than shoved off. He'll use the money to promote more anarchy and more treason.
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