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March 12, 2005
Firing Ward Churchill: Reasons, and Hypotheticals on Firing for Lying About Race
A good Claremont report by the Corrys on whether Ward Churchill fired says
It need not and cannot be based on his well-documented disdain for the United States of America - as offensive as that is.
Mr. Churchill's termination is warranted for three of the above five reasons: his demonstrable professional incompetence, his neglect of duty, and his flagrant, persistent failure to meet minimum standards of professional integrity.
More and more Ward Churchill wrongdoing comes up all the time. This is the first report I've seen that discusses the blame that university officials should receive for his successful career at Colorado.
I don't think Ward Churchill's claim to be an Indian is proper grounds for dismissal, even if it can be shown to be false, which, as I've blogged before, is not an easy task. But it does raise interesting legal questions. The Corry report says:
"If he is not Native American, if he lied about his ethnicity to get a job in the Equal Opportunity program, I think they could fire him on those grounds alone," Caplis told the Rocky Mountain News in a February 11 article.19 Denver lawyer Craig Skinner concurred with Caplis in the article. "If it a material and international misrepresentation, then the university would be justified in terminating his employment...."
Whether a university can hire and fire somebody because of their race is a contentious issue. Conservatives say universities should not discriminate by race, and so should defend Ward Churchill here.
Consider the following three hypotheticals.
CASE 1. Roe University hired John Doe as a professor in 1995. Internal documents show that he was hired only because he claimed to be 100% white, even though such discrimination is illegal. In 2005, Roe discovers that Doe lied on his application form, and is actually 1/4 Black. Can they fire him for lying on his application form?
The argument for allowing Doe to be fired is that the law says you can be fired for lying on a job application, and that is exactly what is being done. The University, to be sure, has committed an illegal act, but that is a separate question.
The argument for not allowing Doe to be fired is that the university should not be allowed to take advantage of its own illegal behavior.
I would forbid him to be fired in Case 1.
I don't know how the law comes out, and would be interested.
CASE 1'. Roe University hired John Doe as a professor in 1995. Internal documents show that he was hired only because he delivered what he purported to be one hundred kilograms of cocaine to the board of trustees as a contribution to the college endowment. In 1996, the trustees discover that the white powder is actually flour. Can they fire Doe for getting his job by lying?
This is exactly the same as Case 1.
CASE 2. Roe University hired John Doe as a professor in 1960, at a time when the university had a perfectly legal policy of hiring only 100% white people. In 2005, by which time such discrimination is illegal, the university discovers that Doe lied on his application form and is actually 1/4 Black. Can they fire him for lying on his application form?
This is a harder case than Case 1. I don't know how I would come out. What is difficult here is that Roe University's action was legal in 1960, and they do have a valid concern now with the honesty of their professors, if not with their ethnicity.
The same problem occurs in Case 2'.
CASE 2'. Roe University hired John Doe as a professor in 1890, at a time when cocaine was legal, and part of the deal was that he delivered 100 kilograms of cocaine to the university for recreational use. In 1930, by which time cocaine use was illegal, the university finally opened the package, and discovered the supposed cocaine was really flour. Can the university fire Doe?
Posted by erasmuse at March 12, 2005 12:20 PM
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