In education news, the University of Colorado announced Tuesday it wants to fire ethnic studies professor Ward Churchill. Churchill became the center of a debate over free speech and academic freedom last year over controversial comments he made on the 9/11 attacks. The University of Colorado has come under intense pressure to fire Churchill from figures including state governor Bill Owens and Fox News host Bill O’Reilly. The University says it’s firing Churchill after a committee concluded he committed research misconduct and plagiarism in his writings on Native American history. Churchill has vigorously denied the charges and maintains he is being punished for his outspoken views. He will have ten days to appeal the university’s decision. This news comes on the heels of last month’s announcement by Yale University it will not to hire prominent University of Michigan history professor Juan Cole. The decision followed a barrage of lobbying and criticism from right-wing commentators over Cole’s views on the Iraq war, Israel and the state of the Middle East.