Colorado Professor Sues University of Colorado for Wrongful Termination

Friday April 10, 2009

A University of Colorado ethics professor recently lost his job for likening the victims of the September 11th attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon to a Nazi leader. He wrote a paper titled, “Some People Push Back: On the Justice of Roosting Chickens.” It harshly criticized the United States’ foreign policy and called the victims of the 9/11 bombings, “little Eichmanns,” in reference to a Holocaust architect.

The professor, Ward Churchill, said that he was exercising his right to free speech and that he should not have lost his job over this essential right of American citizens. However, his colleagues maintain that he was fired because he had committed various counts of plagiarism and academic dishonesty within his essay, and within a previous essay that he had written about American Indian history.

Churchill won his case, but only received $1 in damages. His goal is to be reinstated to his position at the university, which paid almost $97,000 each year. He also wants the university to foot the bill for his legal expenses during the trial. The University of Colorado has not decided whether or not it will appeal the court’s decision, but it has said that chances of Churchill’s reinstatement are slim.

Sources: http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-churchill-verdict3-...