Churchill report delayed again (Results of CU investigation now due on March 28th)

The release of a preliminary report investigating embattled CU ethnic studies professor Ward Churchill was delayed again Monday.

CU interim Chancellor Phil DiStefano plans to release the report on March 28, two weeks later than anticipated, according to a CU press release.

"It's imminent. This isn't going to be sitting there getting dust on itself," CU Regent Steve Bosley told the Colorado Daily on Monday.

An administrative team led by DiStefano is investigating Churchill's scholarship.

Churchill drew the ire of many by comparing some victims of the World Trade Center attacks to Nazi bureaucrat Adolf Eichmann in an essay he wrote shortly after Sept. 11, 2001. AD (_middle)

Six of the nine CU regents had been willing to approve a settlement for Churchill of less than $500,000 late last week until allegations of plagiarism levied by Dalhousie University professor Fay G. Cohen in Nova Scotia came to light, The Denver Post reported Monday.

Cohen has charged Churchill plagiarized an essay she wrote about Indian fishing treaty rights.

Churchill told the Rocky Mountain News that his 1992 essay was a "collectively authored piece" written under the aegis of the Institute for Natural Progress, an institute Churchill co-founded.

Bosley said the Regents already knew about a plagiarism allegation before talk of a buyout heated up late last week, and he denied the allegation was the reason the buyout stalled over the weekend.

"At this point, I've changed my mind," Regent Pat Hayes told the Rocky Mountain News in a story published Monday. "Originally, I thought that a settlement would get him (Churchill) off the campus. But as this has gone through all its iterations, I decided last week that I couldn't support it any longer.

The more I heard about, the more I wondered what else is out there. And when push came to shove, I just could not support giving him a nickel."

Other Regents, including Peter Steinhauer, said they opposed a settlement from the start.

Regent Cindy Carlisle said she decided last week to oppose any buyout because she was concerned a buyout could harm the principles of due process and academic freedom.

The Regents have not yet come to a consensus what to do about Churchill, Bosley said.

"In all my years in business, this is probably the most difficult decision I've had because I can't come down clear on it," Bosley said.

The delay of the report about Churchill would allow the Regents to keep "all options open" in case new information about Churchill arises, Bosley said.

"This is a person's reputation, it's their career," he said. "There have been things in the past that have been investigated, that they found no reason to pursue it."

When the Churchill report is completed, DiStefano will determine if Churchill should be dismissed for cause or if an action should be taken against him.

The Associated Press contributed to this story. Contact Matt Williams at Williams@coloradodaily.com.

Same story from the Rocky Mountain News:

As a settlement with Ward Churchill looked less likely, the University of Colorado's acting Boulder chancellor announced Monday that a review of the tenured professor's work would be released March 28.

The Board of Regents had considered a settlement that would pay the ethnic studies professor to retire amid the furor over his essay likening some Sept. 11 victims to the Nazi who organized the Holocaust. Last week's publicity about allegations that Churchill plagiarized work by Dalhousie University professor Fay G. Cohen in Nova Scotia apparently derailed the talks.

Churchill has denied the plagiarism allegations. His attorney, David Lane, said CU halted the talks last week.

Regent Michael Carrigan said, while anything is possible, a settlement "is less likely by the day."

Six of the nine CU regents had been willing to approve a settlement for Churchill of less than $500,000 late last week, The Denver Post reported in Monday editions.

"It seemed early on when we started in this process that when the only issue seemed to be the essay that he wrote in 2001, a very painful essay and hurtful, and it seemed to me at that time, why don't we just get him off the campus and be done with it?" regent Pat Hayes said to The Associated Press.

She changed her mind, however, as questions arose about the way Churchill was granted tenure and the plagiarism allegations surfaced.

"There are other issues that we need to consider and it seems almost every day or every other day there's a new issue that comes to light. It's more extensive than we originally thought," Hayes said.

She said the regents likely would read the report by acting Boulder Chancellor Phil DiStefano during next week's board meeting, a week before he plans to make it public.

The review by DiStefano and two deans started after Churchill's essay, written immediately after the Sept. 11 attacks, was publicized in January by the student newspaper at a New York state college. That college and others canceled appearances by Churchill because of the essay.

Gov. Bill Owens called for Churchill's firing and the Legislature approved resolutions denouncing Churchill's comments.

Some lawmakers want to overhaul tenure, which makes it difficult to fire professors who have undergone years of academic review except for blatant misconduct. The idea is to protect professors from political reprisals.

If DiStefano concludes there is reason to fire Churchill, the Faculty Senate could be called on to hear an appeal. The faculty's recommendation would go to the chancellor or CU president and then the regents, who have the final say.

Churchill has said he would fight any effort to fire him. He said Monday that he had not heard anything from the university.

Barbara Bintliff, a law professor and head of the Boulder Faculty Assembly, said any settlement should include a clear explanation of the issues investigated and the conclusions.

"It would be unacceptable to most faculty to offer a settlement if there was credible evidence of academic misconduct. It would tarnish all of us and we would want those issues resolved," Bintliff said.

She added that the debate has underscored the need for better procedures when such issues arise. Faculty members throughout CU's four-campus system plan to better educate themselves and the public about tenure and academic freedom.

Link to Rocky Mountain News story

They found he was a Leftist Activist and thus was given a pass.

What will be interesting in the coming weeks is Churchill's scheduled appearance at two anarchist events in San Francisco, one a speech on Friday March 25th, then at an anarchist book fair the next day, Saturday March 26th. I wonder if he will disappoint his wacko leftist followers if he backs down in his rhetoric like he tried to do in his last three college appearances at CU, in Hawaii and in Wisconsin.

If you want more info about the March 25th appearance goto:

http://akpress.org/2005/items/wardchurchillticket

Of course we will be emailing everyone in the SF Bay area media with the links to the mountain of eveidence against Churchill so they can be fully prepared to question him if he holds a news conference just like Malia from the hawaiireporter.com did in Hawaii. Her focused questioning of Churchill in a news conference there caused him to walk away in a huff.

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