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How Much Does It Cost to Fire a Professor?
In the case of Ward Churchill, the answer would be $352,000. The University of Colorado disclosed yesterday the total cost for all the investigations and hearings leading up to the Board of Regents dismissing Ward Churchill as a professor. This amount is only expected to increase because it doesn’t include legal fees that will be associated with Churchill’s lawsuit against the university, which is currently pending in state court.
In 2005, FIRE released an analysis of the situation and FIRE President Greg Lukianoff recently published a piece concerning the next legal steps in this story. Stay tuned to The Torch for more coverage as we continue to follow this case.
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TICKETS ON SALE: Step up to the Soapbox in Philadelphia, Nov. 4-6, 2026
Tickets on sale for Soapbox 2026 in Philly! Nov. 4–6. Fearless debates, bold speakers, and a gala celebrating free speech at America’s 250th.
The secret war against student journalists
Across the country, colleges are using conduct hearings to punish student reporters for basic newsgathering — chilling who gets to tell campus stories.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (of protected speech)
The FBI is probing Signal chats that track ICE activity — without evidence of a crime. That’s not law enforcement. It’s a First Amendment problem.
The paper was her lifeboat — UMD called it interference
She founded a Muslim student paper for community. Now UMD calls her reporting on a protest “interference” — and is pursuing discipline.