CNN Article, March 25, 2005
www.cnn.com University Professor Ward Churchill managed to keep his job after writing an essay that rubbed salt in the wounds surrounding the 9/11 tragedy. He wrote an essay comparing many of the 9/11 victims to "little Eichmanns," referring to Adolf Eichman, the Nazi that orchestrated the holocaust. He claimed that many of the victims, because they worked in the financial industry, provoked the terrorists and essentially brought the disaster on themselves.
The essay sparked an uproar in the country. The governors of both New York and Colorado, among hundreds of others, called on the University of Colorado to fire the professor. The University admitted that the Professor's essay was "profoundly offensive, abusive and misguided," but refused to fire him because they claimed his essay was protected by the 1st amendment. The University has formed a committee to look into allegations that the professor plagiarized much of the essay, and that he falsely claimed that he was part American Indian.
This episode has led many to question the University of Colorado's procedures for granting tenure, which usually protects university faculty from expressing views that may be contrary to public opinion. The University has said it will review its tenure policies in light of this experience with Professor Churchill.
