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A jury has found that former University of Colorado professor Ward Churchill was wrongly fired by his former employer.  Churchill had been the target of many television and radio commentator’s ire after publishing an essay in which he called victims of the September 11th terrorist attacks “little Eichmanns” (referring to former Nazi official Adolf Eichmann who had masterminded the Holocaust).  He contended in court that the outrage over the essay precipitated his firing from the University of Colorado.  The jury agreed, saying that Churchill’s political views had been a “substantial or motivating” factor in the dismissal from his post.

There’s left and there’s far left, and by most American political barometers, Ward Churchill falls into the latter category.  For years he has been the source of many controversial, and sometimes offensive statements and theories.   But that doesn’t give the University of Colorado a right to fire him.  In Academia, tenure is tenure, and it means you have a job, an academic voice and a spot at the table for life.  Tenure is a vitally important institution to ensure that freedom of speech continues to exist in this country and it must be preserved, even in the face of distasteful statements made by the likes of one professor or another.  The jury in Colorado made an important ruling upholding our Constitution in this case.You can takepart in protecting our First Amendment rights by supporting the American Civil Liberties Union.

LINKS:

NY Times: Jury says professor was wrongly fired

USA Today: Jury: Colo. professor wrongly fired for critical 9/11 essay

AP: Jury: University of Colorado wrongly fired prof