He's an artist, too

Ward Churchill made it from working as staff at the University of Colorado to full, tenured professor in one year, but his scholarship is now being challenged.  His ethnicity -- he formerly either claimed or implied that he was a Native American -- is disputed.  And now his art has received some criticism. 

At right are two pictures -- an original by the late artist Thomas Mails (copied here from a book) and an "original" called "Winter Attack" signed by Ward Churchill.  Some have noticed striking similarities.  It's possible that Prof. Churchill got his own independent artistic afflatus that just happened to be the mirror image of an existing creation.  But even then, a person knowledgeable of this area of art would be aware of the similarities and reference the earlier work.  Other explanations for the similarities are less respectful of Prof. Churchill.

A reporter tried to get an explanation from Prof. Churchill:

[The reporter, Mr. Chohan, asks:] "This is an artwork we've got called 'Winter Attack.' It looks like it was based on a Thomas Mails painting; it looks like you ripped it off. Can you tell us about that?" Chohan asked.

That prompted Churchill to take a swing at Chohan while he held a stack of papers in his hand.

The exchange continued:

Chohan: "Sir, that's assault, you can't do that. Can I ask you about this? It looks like you copied it."

Here's a video of the exchange.

His artwork, speeches and disputed ethnicity claims can't be adding much to the University of Colorado's reputation as an institution of higher learning.  Why don't they do something?

The Rocky Mountain News depicts the CU administration as practically paralyzed with fear at the possible retaliation Churchill could visit on them should they attempt to chastise him.

There is the possibility of an "early retirement package."

University of Colorado officials are considering offering Ward Churchill an   early retirement package that could end an increasingly uncomfortable standoff   with the controversial professor. ... David Lane, Churchill's attorney, said   he has not been contacted about a buyout offer. But, he said, while his   primary focus is on protecting Churchill's constitutional right to speak out,   he would be willing to listen to a university proposal. "If they offer   $10 million, I would think about it. If they offer him $10, I wouldn't,"   Lane said.

And herein is, unfortunately, a lesson in financial planning for anyone working at a large state institution of higher learning.  These institutions depend on their state legislatures for funding increases and the state legislators that vote for these funding increases must explain their votes to their voting constituencies.  Lengthy legal procedings played out over months or years in the press can be viewed negatively by the local public and, in turn, may lead to decreased motivation among legislators to support budget increases.  So "early retirement package" is often the weapon of choice when these universities must discipline one of their employees.  One way to get a better retirement package may be to create enough problems for the university that they are motivated to pay more to see you leave.  It is a safe bet that no other faculty at CU are having their lawyers talk about $10 million retirement packages (though here the statement appears to be hyperbolic, though maybe it is just setting the range where negotiations must start).