Going, Going...Gone?

Ward Churchill, he of the anti-Semitic comments, inane commentary about 9/11, and plagarism and other acts of academic dishonesty, has been terminated.

He has 10 days to appeal.

As I've noted before:

Churchill is free to speak freely and make a complete and utter ass of himself. However, he doesn't have the right to plagarize, and commit other acts of academic misconduct. Those are fireable offenses - and the panel properly concluded as such.

The University of Colorado correctly determined that Churchill's academic misconduct and plagarism were actionable offenses worthy of termination. Churchill's going to try and throw all sorts of smokescreens out there, but note that he's not addressing the issue of plagarism, but instead seeking to frame the matter as one of free speech.

Churchill has 10 days to appeal, which entails making a request to have the university president or chancellor forward the recommendation to the faculty senate Committee on Privilege and Tenure. A special panel will then conduct hearings on the matter and make a recommendation to the president on whether grounds for dismissal are supported.

Another committee found Churchill guilty of research misconduct and another panel recommended that he be fired because of "repeated and deliberate" infractions of scholarship rules.

Churchill's attorney promptly called a news conference Monday afternoon to announce that his client does intend to appeal to the tenure committee. He also mentioned going to court.

Churchill, who ignited a firestorm by calling some of the World Trade Center victims "little Eichmanns" in an essay he wrote after Sept. 11, 2001, has vowed to sue the school if he was fired.

"We're going to a real court because we can trust juries to do the right thing," said Churchill's attorney David Lane. "Churchill says this all completely bogus. Let's see if a jury and a Federal District Court agrees with the committee. Or see if everything that's happened here is retaliation for Ward Churchill's First Amendment free speech relating to 9/11."

The 9/11 related comments brought scrutiny, which led to the questions about his scholarship. It was those questions that led to the conclusion that he committed acts of plagarism and other academic misconduct.