Will Ward Churchill’s firing mean anything in the long run? The National Association of Scholars released a press release about 30 seconds or so after the University of Colorado Regents voted last night. “Ward Churchill Firing “A Con Man’s Comeuppance” One response came from a pessimistic reader who declared that the firing would have “absolutely no impact on CU or academia” and that “radical agenda on campus” would continue unaltered.
Reforming higher education is a tall order, and Churchill’s firing is a small matter when compared to the entrenched ideologues who dominate the liberal arts on most campuses. Still, my correspondent is a little too gloomy. Churchill’s firing establishes three important things.
First, it shines light on the bogus “scholarship” that often passes for legitimate academic credentials in fields like ethnic studies. De-legitimizing the academic Left will take more than one scandal, but this is one of those scandals that will stick. Colleges and universities across the country that have winked at the intellectual trash put forward in lieu of scholarship by some of their ideologue professors now have something to worry about. No one wants to be the next CU.
Second, it shows that trustees and regents do have the power to enforce academic standards when they summon the will to do so. I assure you that this will send a chill down the backs of a lot of college presidents, whose main concern has been to pander to their left-wing faculty.
Third, it kicks over the idea, argued by many of Churchill’s supporters, that his academic “work” shouldn’t be subject to scrutiny because…well, they gave lots of reasons. Because he was a popular teacher. Because he had come under scrutiny in the first place because of his political opinions. Because he would sue the University. Because everything he did was to advance a good cause. Knocking down all of these excuses and evasions was a good thing because it makes it easier for colleges and universities all over the country to knock them down again the next time they are offered–and they will be.
Churchill’s firing doesn’t spell the beginning of the end for professors who abuse their positions, but it was a good day in Denver.