UO strikes Colorado professor from conference panel

[central scrutinizer]

My alma mater has bowed to political pressure and asked Ward Churchill to not attend a conference. Wayne Morse, the namesake of the Morse Center, the event co-sponsor, must be rolling in his grave.

http://www.registerguard.com/news/2005/02/15/d1.cr.churchill.0215.html

excerpt: Add the University of Oregon to the list of campuses that have canceled scheduled appearances by the now-controversial Colorado professor Ward Churchill.
Churchill became the focus of national outrage in late January after Internet and television commentators learned that he had written an essay shortly after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks suggesting the acts were justified. Churchill, an ethnic studies professor at the University of Colorado, earlier had been placed on the list of presenters at an April 1 conference at the UO on race and immigration issues in the post-Sept. 11 era.

<snip>

Hallock said that while she is concerned about issues of academic freedom, she doesn't see the cancelation of Churchill's appearance as an infringement. Churchill was not scheduled to speak on the topic that ignited the public debate, she said, and was not even on the original list of invited speakers.

"I think that the questions of academic freedom are different from ones that we're dealing with," she said. "Whether he keeps his job and issues of tenure I think are different from whether or not we should sponsor his visit on a conference of which he wasn't originally an intended guest."

[bluestateguy]

1. I don't think CU will fire him

But I think they are going to put the writing on the wall that he's no longer welcome there anymore. Universities have ways of doing that with unpopular faculty.

[rodeodance]

2. sad to see a progressive state of Oregon blacklist Churchill.

[jody]

3. Don't underestimate the threat from Bush's government to cut off

all grants and studies funds to a university. That is a Cash Cow for every university because of the bloated overhead expense added to each such contract when in fact the actual overhead expense is minuscule. Been there, done that.
:shrug:

[0rganism]

8. Don't overestimate the progressiveness of Oregon

We're the Mississippi of the West Coast. There's lots of skinheads, KKK/neo-nazi groups, and good old fashioned redneckism just outside of the metropolitan areas. Even within the pockets of urban blue, there are some disturbing undercurrents of racism, sexism, and homophobia. Oregon has the dubious honor of being among of the first states to add gay-marriage bans into the state constitution. We've been targetted by Norquist's thinktank for at least a decade, and state revenue has dropped through the floor as a result.

I'm sad to say, it's no surprise UO dropped Churchill. Oregon's educational institutions are pretty timid when it comes to anything that could further jeopardize their already shakey funding.

[Morose]

4. So if he wasn't invited to talk on the topic that inflamed everyone

what topic was he invited to talk about? Moreover, how is censoring someone on a topic that Is NOT controversial due to the fact that somewhere else they did say something controversial not undermining academic freedom?

I saw the guy interviewed and he didn't strike me as an Icon of Academia, but he did appear to have several areas of knowledge (that extended beyond 9/11) so if he's an expert in other fields, is he now disqualified from THOSE topics because people don't like what he had to say about this one topic?

In Oregon no less...damn and I was feeling peachy about my state earlier this morning. Hoping this one turns and bites the Dean in the ass.

Let him speak...if he speaks foolish words, let someone else rebut him. That's the marketplace of ideas after all isnt it? Or are we intent on building exclusiionary monopolies there as well? (don't answer I know.)

[MarcJacobs4]

5. I think the Board of Regents will

fire him unde the guise of plagerism, not properly sourcing his material and/or lying about his Native American heritage when he applied for his position. I think he'll definitely be dismissed but they'll say it wasn't for the reason we know it was.

[Metrix]

6. Out-of-state enrollments at CU are already down

30% due to the football scandal and general poor economy. The regents would just make things worse were they to take that step.

[MarcJacobs4]

7. you're right, never thought about that.