July 7, 2009

Dear Friends,

Philip P. DiStefano

Today a Denver judge dismissed Ward Churchill's case against the University of Colorado Board of Regents and ruled that it would be inappropriate to return him to the faculty.

While legal maneuvers in this case may continue, I believe this to be an appropriate ruling that upholds our standards of academic integrity and honesty in scholarship—the same standards to which we hold our students.

From the beginning we have said this is not a case about free speech. Indeed our faculty and students engage in free speech daily in the classroom and in their academic work. For CU, this was always about the integrity of scholarship. Academic honesty is at the heart of education and the advancement of knowledge, and every university is built on it. There is honor in protecting it.

While this case has had a high-profile presence, I am proud that it did not distract us from our goals and mission. Over the past two years alone, CU-Boulder has set campus records for fundraising, sponsored research revenues, enrollment, and diversity enrollment.

With the help of communities across Colorado we built and are installing a new strategic plan, Flagship 2030, to transform CU-Boulder for education and service in the 21st century. And since this case first came to light in 2005, we have prepared and graduated 35,000 young adults for a life of career and contribution—our greatest accomplishment of all.

I want to thank each of you for your support during this trying period for the university. We are looking forward to continuing the work that defines a great flagship university.

Sincerely,

Philip P. DiStefano, Chancellor
University of Colorado at Boulder