http://www.kansas.com/mld/kansas/13352334.htm
KU professor steps down as head of Religious Studies BY DAVID KLEPPER The Kansas City Star Embattled religious studies professor Paul Mirecki has stepped down as chairman of the University of Kansas' Department of Religious Studies. Mirecki remains a tenured professor at the department. No successor has been named. In a written statement, Barbara Romzek, interim dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, said she accepted Mirecki's resignation today. "Professor Mirecki said he thought it appropriate to step down and did so on the recommendation of his colleagues in the department, and I have accepted his resignation," Romzek said. "This allows the department to focus on what's most important -- teaching, research and service -- and to minimize the distractions of the last couple of weeks." Mirecki came under fire after e-mails were uncovered in which he mocked aspects of Christianity. He initially attracted attention when he announced he would teach a class this spring about intelligent design and creationism as myth. That sparked immediate criticism from conservatives who supported the Kansas Board of Education's recent move to insert criticism of evolution into state science standards. Mirecki's critics then discovered e-mails from a listserv operated by the Society of Open-Minded Atheists and Agnostics in which Mirecki mocked various aspects of Catholicism and fundamentalist Christianity. Last week, KU Chancellor Robert Hemenway said he found the e-mails "repugnant and vile." Mirecki apologized for the e-mails and the course was withdrawn. On Monday, Mirecki told Douglas County Sheriff's Deputies he was attacked by two men early that morning. Mirecki told police the two men were closely following his vehicle south of Lawrence, and when he got out to confront them, they beat him and made reference to the recent controversy. Mirecki was treated and released from Lawrence Memorial Hospital. Mirecki has taught at KU for 15 years. He has a doctorate in theology from Harvard University and specializes in ancient Mediterranean cultures, religions and languages. -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Ed Brayton Sent: Wednesday, December 07, 2005 12:21 PM To: Law & Religion issues for Law Academics Subject: Re: Kansas Prof Physically Attacked Volokh, Eugene wrote: > Thanks very much, but this update seems quite mysterious -- does >anyone know *why* the attack is now not labeled a hate crime? Is it >because the police didn't believe that the attack was motivated by his >decision to teach the anti-ID class? > > I can't speak for the police and what they are thinking, but at least one person that I know in Kansas who is close to the situation has serious doubts about the story and thinks that there's a possibility it will turn out not to be entirely true as reported. I don't want to go out on a limb and say I think that's likely, nor do I want to engage in character assassination of Mr. Mirecki should it turn out that the entire story is true, but I can tell you that there does appear to be good reason to be skeptical based on what I've been told. And that is coming from someone who is strongly pro-evolution and anti-ID, and who really hopes that the doubts are unfounded. We have taken enough of a black eye because of Mirecki in the last couple weeks; the last thing we need is a Tawana Brawley situation on our hands. Ed Brayton _______________________________________________ To post, send message to [email protected] To subscribe, unsubscribe, change options, or get password, see http://lists.ucla.edu/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/religionlaw Please note that messages sent to this large list cannot be viewed as private. Anyone can subscribe to the list and read messages that are posted; people can read the Web archives; and list members can (rightly or wrongly) forward the messages to others. _______________________________________________ To post, send message to [email protected] To subscribe, unsubscribe, change options, or get password, see http://lists.ucla.edu/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/religionlaw Please note that messages sent to this large list cannot be viewed as private. Anyone can subscribe to the list and read messages that are posted; people can read the Web archives; and list members can (rightly or wrongly) forward the messages to others.
