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SUMMIT COUNTY - Local Republicans want Summit County's representative on CU's Board of Regents to better explain her reasons for casting the lone dissenting vote against dismissing controversial professor Ward Churchill.
The board voted 8-1 last week to fire Churchill, a tenured professor of ethnic studies, after determining he had "engaged in acts of research misconduct, including fabrication, falsification and plagiarism," according to a report from the regents.
Regent Cindy Carlisle, a Democrat who represents Summit, Eagle, Clear Creek, Grand, Gilpin and Boulder counties, was the only regent who didn't support Churchill's dismissal.
"If Ms. Carlisle could not vote to fire Professor Ward Churchill despite the overwhelming evidence of his academic fraud and misconduct, we would also ask her to explain what circumstances would lead her to recommend that a tenured faculty member be fired," said Summit County GOP chairwoman Debra Irvine.
Carlisle told the Associated Press last week that she felt the regents should have accepted the advice of the Privilege and Tenure Committee, which voted 3-2 in May to suspend Churchill for a year without pay.
Irvine said she didn't feel that was an adequate justification and called for Carlisle to issue a public explanation for her decision, which defied CU President Hank Brown's recommendation to dismiss Churchill.
Carlisle did not return a phone call seeking comment.
An e-mail sent to Carlisle on Tuesday returned an automated response from the CU Board of Regents saying in part they believe their decision serves the best interests of the University of Colorado and its constituents.
Irvine said the request for more explanation is a non-partisan issue, and pointed out that U.S. Rep. Mark Udall, a Democrat, also supported Churchill's dismissal.
"This has nothing to do with party (affiliation) at all. We're just curious why she had the dissenting vote. What more egregious act could he have done to send her over the edge to be that ninth vote?" Irvine asked.
Churchill's first came under fire after writing an essay that likened some 9/11 victims to Holocaust organizer Adolf Eichmann. The regents said their decision to fire Churchill wasn't linked to those statements and recognized his right to make controversial political statements.
The academic investigation focused on whether Churchill engaged in conduct below minimum standards of professional integrity, the regents' report said.
Churchill's lawyer has filed a lawsuit against the university last Wednesday, saying the school retaliated against him for exercising his freedom of speech.
<i>Nicole Formosa can be reached at (970) 668-4629, or at nformosa@summitdaily.com.</i>
The board voted 8-1 last week to fire Churchill, a tenured professor of ethnic studies, after determining he had "engaged in acts of research misconduct, including fabrication, falsification and plagiarism," according to a report from the regents.
Regent Cindy Carlisle, a Democrat who represents Summit, Eagle, Clear Creek, Grand, Gilpin and Boulder counties, was the only regent who didn't support Churchill's dismissal.
"If Ms. Carlisle could not vote to fire Professor Ward Churchill despite the overwhelming evidence of his academic fraud and misconduct, we would also ask her to explain what circumstances would lead her to recommend that a tenured faculty member be fired," said Summit County GOP chairwoman Debra Irvine.
Carlisle told the Associated Press last week that she felt the regents should have accepted the advice of the Privilege and Tenure Committee, which voted 3-2 in May to suspend Churchill for a year without pay.
Irvine said she didn't feel that was an adequate justification and called for Carlisle to issue a public explanation for her decision, which defied CU President Hank Brown's recommendation to dismiss Churchill.
Carlisle did not return a phone call seeking comment.
An e-mail sent to Carlisle on Tuesday returned an automated response from the CU Board of Regents saying in part they believe their decision serves the best interests of the University of Colorado and its constituents.
Irvine said the request for more explanation is a non-partisan issue, and pointed out that U.S. Rep. Mark Udall, a Democrat, also supported Churchill's dismissal.
"This has nothing to do with party (affiliation) at all. We're just curious why she had the dissenting vote. What more egregious act could he have done to send her over the edge to be that ninth vote?" Irvine asked.
Churchill's first came under fire after writing an essay that likened some 9/11 victims to Holocaust organizer Adolf Eichmann. The regents said their decision to fire Churchill wasn't linked to those statements and recognized his right to make controversial political statements.
The academic investigation focused on whether Churchill engaged in conduct below minimum standards of professional integrity, the regents' report said.
Churchill's lawyer has filed a lawsuit against the university last Wednesday, saying the school retaliated against him for exercising his freedom of speech.
<i>Nicole Formosa can be reached at (970) 668-4629, or at nformosa@summitdaily.com.</i>
