Ward Churchill, controversial former University of Colorado professor, dies at 78

Ward Churchill, the former University of Colorado professor whose writings and outspoken political views ignited a national debate over academic freedom and free speech, has died.

His former lawyer says Churchill died of a stroke.

Iliff School of Theology Professor Emeritus Tink Tinker, a member of the Osage Nation, said Churchill "was part of the American Indian Movement from the early 1980s. All of the people who criticized him never read his body of work. His books get at the truth of what happened and is happening to American Indians on Turtle Island, this continent. It persistently challenges the usual narrative of what I call the American romance."

Churchill was a longtime professor of ethnic studies at CU Boulder. He became a nationally controversial figure in higher education after an essay he wrote that referred to some of the victims of the 9/11 attacks as "little Eichmanns," a characterization that prompted widespread condemnation and made Churchill a national figure.

The controversy soon expanded beyond his writings about the 9/11 attacks.

In 2005, the University of Colorado launched a formal investigation into allegations that Churchill had plagiarized portions of other people's work, misused sources and fabricated material. University officials also investigated allegations that he had misrepresented his American Indian ancestry.

At the time, university officials emphasized that Churchill's controversial political speech itself could not be the basis for dismissing a tenured professor.

Churchill's attorney, David Lane, accused the university of conducting an unfair investigation and argued that the case was an extension of the controversy surrounding Churchill's political views. Churchill denied wrongdoing.

The controversy reached beyond his academic writings and into his artwork.

Former CBS Colorado reporter Raj Chohan reported a piece of artwork that Churchill made in 1981 closely resembled an illustration by artist Thomas E. Mails that had appeared in Mails' 1972 book "The Mystic Warriors of the Plains." Chohan shared pictures of the work titled "Winter Attack" and how it closely resembled a decade-earlier artwork.

Churchill maintained that he had disclosed the source when the serigraph was originally produced.

But questions remained over whether permission had been obtained from the copyright holder.

The university investigation eventually concluded that Churchill had committed multiple instances of plagiarism, fabrication, and falsification. In 2007, the university Board of Regents voted to fire him.

Churchill challenged his dismissal in court, arguing that he had been punished for his political speech. In 2009, a Denver jury found that he had been wrongfully fired and awarded him $1 in damages. Subsequent court proceedings did not result in his reinstatement. The American Civil Liberties Union of Colorado argued that Churchill had been fired because of his expression and later supported his legal challenge.

To supporters, he was a scholar punished for expressing views that many Americans found offensive. To critics, he represented a failure of academic standards that could not be excused as protected speech.