DENVER -- Professor Ward Churchill will have to wait a few months before he knows whether he will be dismissed or disciplined.

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CU Chancellor Makes Announcement About Churchill Review

In a Thursday afternoon press conference, University of Colorado Boulder Chancellor Phil DiStefano said that Churchill's essay is protected by free speech but allegations that he plagiarized others' works and fabricated his American Indian ancestory to get a job requires further investigation.

"In our review, we have found that the content and rhetoric of Professor Churchill's writings -- no matter how repugnant I find them -- are protected by the First Amendment. While there are limits to the protections afforded by the Constitution, our review has determined that those limits have not been exceeded in Professor Churchill's case," DiStefano said.

"Allegations of research misconduct have also been made, including plagiarism, fabrication and misuse of others' work. As a university, we are obliged to fully investigate such allegations regardless of when or how they emerge. At the level of preliminary review just concluded, our responsibility was to determine whether these allegations of research misconduct are frivolous or not ... In the course of this review we have determined that the allegations regarding research misconduct warrant referral to the standing committee, " DiStefano said.

"In regard to the allegation of misrepresentation of ethnicity, to gain credibility and an audience for scholarship, we believe such misrepresentation may constitute research misconduct and failure to meet standards of professional integrity.

A faculty committee now will take about seven months to examine the plagiarism and misrepresentation claims. Their report will then be given to the vice chancellor of academic affairs who then will report it to the chancellor. DeStefano, ultimately, will decide if Churchill should be fired.

"I continue to believe that Ward Churchill should be fired," Gov. Bill Owens said afterward. "However, I also understand that the University has to go through a specific review of the allegations concerning plagiarism and fabrication. I am encouraged by the action taken by the University to refer those allegations to the appropriate Standing Committee. I believe this demonstrates that the University is taking the allegations seriously, as well they should."

The review of Churchill's scholarship and whether or not the university has grounds to fire the tenured professor was instigated after Churchill's essay about the victims of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks came to light. In his controversial essay, Churchill compared the victims to "little Eichmanns," referring to Nazi bureaucrat Adolf Eichmann, who helped carry out the Holocaust. The professor argued that those who worked at the World Trade Centers were not innocent victims but were actively participating in an unfair American economic system that provoked the terrorist attacks.

After the essay caused a national furor, the University Board of Regents issued an apology about his essay and announced the review during an emergency meeting last month. DiStefano opened the review to determine whether he should recommend that regents fire Churchill, a tenured professor in the ethnic studies department.

Churchill has denied misconduct and said he would sue if the university attempts to fire him.

Churchill's obscure essay, "Some People Push Back," became known and sparked protests in January, just weeks before a speaking engagement at Hamilton College in upstate New York, which was later canceled. Since then, Gov. Bill Owens has called for him to be fired and several schools have canceled speeches he was scheduled to make.

CU Promises To Review Tenure System

Since then, the university has faced tough questions about how Churchill was granted tenure and whether he was thoroughly reviewed before he was given that tenured status.

And because of that, CU regents on Thursday also promised a wide-ranging review of the tenure system. The Board of Regents voted to form a panel to review the way the school's four campuses award tenure -- and the way professors are evaluated after they get it.

Tenure protects faculty from being fired except for blatant misconduct.

University President Elizabeth Hoffman said some changes were likely at the conclusion of the review.

"We've been talking with faculty and regents for a number of weeks on this," Hoffman said. "There have been so many questions raised about academic freedom and tenure."

Rod Muth, chairman of the CU Faculty Council, said the review was designed to shore up public confidence in the university.

"This isn't about Churchill, this isn't about tenure in general, it's about the public confidence in the university from the people of Colorado," said Muth, who helped draft the resolution calling for the study.

The panel will have nine voting members, including regents Gail Schwartz, Tom Lucero and Steve Bosley, and a 10th, nonvoting member representing the administration.

The other members have not been appointed.

No date was set for the panel to begin work, but Muth said he hoped it would complete a report by the end of May.

Additional Information:

To discuss with others the issues and controversies surrounding CU, join our online forum.
To see some of Churchill's disputed art work, click here.
To read Churchill's complete essay, "Some People Push Back," click here
To read what Churchill has to say in his defense, click here.
To read Gov. Owens' letter, calling for Churchill to resign click here.
To read CU's rules for dismissal of a tenured professor, click here.