Denver Jury Says Ward Churchill Wrongly Terminated

Controversial political activist and former University of Colorado at Boulder (CU) professor Ward Churchill has been vindicated. Yesterday, a Denver jury ruled in favor of Churchill, saying the university had wrongfully terminated him in 2005 over divisive remarks made in his essay “Some People Push Back: On the Justice of Roosting Chickens,” which CU alleged contained falsified scholarship and used as the basis for his firing.

The jury awarded Churchill only $1 in damages, however, sending a message that Churchill remains a polarizing figure, though Churchill later said the size of the award was inconsequential. “I asked for justice,” he said.

The question of whether his tenured position as chairman of the CU ethnic studies department will be reinstated remains up in the air. A CU spokesperson said that administrators would oppose a reinstatement request by Judge Larry Naves of the Denver District Court. The spokesperson added that reinstatement would most likely draw sharp faculty opposition, as a faculty committee was instrumental in the decision to fire Churchill in the first place.

It’s hard to believe, though, that Churchill would seek reinstatement after the maelstrom created by his fallout with CU. Churchill’s almost $100,000 annual salary is enticing, sure, and he had a 17-year history with the school. Still, the incident suggests that the academic climate at CU would not be receptive to future Churchill dealings, to say the least.