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Three's the charm?
Originally, the University of Colorado committee charged with investigating Ward Churchill's scholarly integrity had five members. Last week, however, two of the committee members resigned in the wake of blogger Jim Paine's revelation that each has gone on record with high praise for Churchill's work.
University of Arizona professor of law and American Indian studies Robert Williams and University of Nebraska-Omaha professor of communication and Native American studies Bruce Johansen both formalized their resignations Friday. Williams has described Churchill as an "important scholar" and has expressed his admiration for Churchill's work as a "public intellectual when it comes to the field of American Indian studies." He also directs Arizona's Rogers College of Law's Indigenous People's Law and Policy Program, which brought Churchill in to speak last year. Johansen and Churchill have exchanged professional strokes--each has publicly praised the other's work.
Paine, whose Pirate Ballerina blog is devoted to the Churchill scandal, contends that each man's tie to Churchill amounts to a conflict of interest that compromises the integrity of the investigation. Questioning whether two avowed supporters of Churchill would be able to evaluate his performance objectively, Paine has reprinted public statements each man has made about Churchill and the investigation. While neither Williams nor Johansen concedes Paine's point, Johansen has said that the "attacks" on him would impair the committee's ability to do its work.
For his part, Johansen has also written to Paine indicating his intention of pursuing legal action against Paine if he does not remove from his website statements that Johansen regards as defamatory. Paine has rephrased his postings, but the gist of the accusation remains.
The University of Colorado has yet to determine whether it will replace the lost committee members.
Posted by acta online at November 14, 2005 10:54 AM
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