“Paul Mirecki remains a tenured professor at the University of Kansas. The university stands unequivocally in support of his First Amendment rights and his rights to academic freedom.

“We deplore violence against Professor Mirecki or any other member of the university community. The university offered assistance to Professor Mirecki as soon as he informed the university he had reported to the county sheriff’s office the off-campus battery incident.

“To reiterate the basic facts:

Professor Mirecki resigned as chair at the recommendation of his own peers — his departmental faculty.

Professor Mirecki’s course on intelligent design was canceled at his own request.

* While the university strongly supported both of these actions, the university continues to believe the course has merit and should be taught in the future.”