University of Colorado President Hank Brown has recommended in a report addressed to the CU Board of Regents that embattled ethnic studies professor Ward Churchill be dismissed from the faculty.

In the 10-page confidential report, which is addressed to Board of Regents Chair Patricia Hayes, Brown states that it is "my determination that Professor Churchill should be dismissed for cause as a result of his misconduct."

The report, dated Friday, includes a number of reasons why Brown believes the controversial professor should be sacked.

Chief among them is "conduct which falls below the minimum standards of professional integrity."

The president said in an interview late Sunday that his report, which has not been officially released, must still go back to the Privilege and Tenure Committee at CU for a last review before being sent back to him for final approval."

It is a draft of my thinking that is for the review of the Privilege and Tenure Committee," Brown said. "If they wish, they can make additional comments to me and then I'll take action."

That could take another 15 days.

Update: Drunkablog takes a look at the Denver Post's story on this, turning up our favorite Churchill quote of the day: "A random group of homeless people under a bridge would be far more intellectually sound and principled than anything I've encountered at the university so far." Well, he would know. Incidentally, the DP article says Churchill plans to write as many as three books "defending his research." Our question is: Under which names?

Update II: Those anonymous wackos over at wardchurchill.net have a pdf containing what they claim is Ward Churchill's response to CU President Hank Brown's decision to proceed with canning him.
Excerpt:

Everyone agrees that this “investigation” would not have occurred but for my First Amendment-protected speech. To use minor factual disagreements, citation of ghostwritten material, and editors’ errors as the pretext for firing me simply illustrates that the administrators of the University of Colorado take political and financial pressures far more seriously than academic freedom or the Constitution’s guarantees of freedom of speech, equal protection and due process.