Statement by CU-Boulder Chancellor Phil DiStefano on the Ward Churchill Case Ruling

July 7, 2009

"The judge's decision today is a victory for faculty governance. It reinforces the idea that faculty set the standard for academic integrity on our campus and all campuses across the country. His decision reinforces the notion that faculty establish research standards, abide by them and enforce them.

The judge elected not to expose us to a double standard. Professor Churchill was found to have committed research misconduct by a number of committees. The judge recognizes that we cannot hold one faculty member to a different standard than we hold the rest of the faculty and the students. To have that double standard would have been very harmful to the campus.

This is not an issue about free speech or about academic freedom. This is an issue about research misconduct. I said back in 2005 and again in 2006 that Professor Churchill's speech is protected. However, there were numerous allegations of research misconduct that needed to be investigated and we did so. A number of faculty committees reached a consensus there was research misconduct."

For past statements on the Ward Churchill case, see Ward Churchill: The Research Misconduct Inquiry and Communiques on Churchill Case .

-CU-

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