AAUP Council Backs Churchill’s Reinstatement

Inside Higher Ed: AAUP Council Backs Churchill’s Reinstatement

The National Council of the American Association of University Professors has issued a statement calling for the reinstatement of Ward Churchill by the University of Colorado. The statement, in its entirety, is this: “We believe the disputes over Ward Churchill’s publications should have been allowed to work themselves out in traditional scholarly venues, not referred to disciplinary hearings. We believe Churchill should be reinstated to his faculty position at the University of Colorado.” A Colorado jury last week found that the University of Colorado did not fire Churchill as an ethnic studies professor on the Boulder campus for legitimate reasons, but for his political views. A judge will later determine whether Churchill can return to his tenured job. Typically, AAUP’s academic freedom committee issues findings about cases involving claims of wrongful termination, but Nelson noted that the National Council from time to time speaks out on its own, as it did in this case. Churchill was fired after the university found that he had engaged in numerous instances of scholarly misconduct.