Professor Patty Limerick files lawsuit against CU

May 10—Professor Patty Limerick filed a lawsuit on Thursday alleging that the University of Colorado will not grant her access to the scholarly works and writings she's created throughout her career.

Limerick seeks a determination that the university has wrongfully claimed ownership of, and wrongfully withheld, access to materials created by Limerick in her more than 50 years at the University of Colorado Boulder.

"I went for years thinking that universities recognized the property of a person who writes things," Limerick said, adding, "I thought that was something I could count on."

CU Boulder spokesperson Nicole Mueksch said the university must take time to review the lawsuit.

"The University of Colorado Boulder disagrees that Dr. Limerick does not have permission to access works, but just recently became aware of the lawsuit Dr. Limerick has filed against the university," Mueksch said in an email. "As this lawsuit has just been served, the campus must review it and determine the appropriate course of action. As such, we are unable to comment further at this time."

University Counsel, the legal team representing the four campuses of the University of Colorado, said in a letter dated April 11, 2024, that it is CU Boulder's position that the university "is the owner of any educational materials, scholarly and artistic works, and works of creative nonfiction that Dr. Limerick created during the time that Dr. Limerick served as Faculty Director of the Center of the American West." The letter was provided by Limerick's legal team.

Limerick was abruptly fired from her position as director of the Center of the American West, which she co-founded in 1986, on Sept. 23, 2022. The decision also sparked criticism of CU Boulder among professors and historians from around the globe. More than 300 people signed a letter expressing their dismay about Limerick's firing addressed to CU leadership in September of 2023.

Nothing was done with clarity and directness, Limerick said, and she still does not understand the reason she was fired. She had inflexible dates in which to be out of her office and didn't have time to consider what would happen to her writings and records. Limerick maintains her tenured teaching position in the history department.

"It was all such a chaotic transition, it was weeks before I thought about all that stuff," she said.

Now, Limerick seeks access to her materials so she can begin writing a book about why the humanities matter, using her life experiences.

According to the lawsuit, the university has "interfered with Professor Limerick's rights of Academic Freedom and Free Expression under the Colorado and United States Constitutions. Nothing is more essential to academic freedom than the right and ability to manage and control the dissemination of one's scholarly work."

Limerick's attorney, Stan Garnett, said Limerick worked with the University Counsel for more than a year to try and reach a solution.

"I was shocked to have the university take the position they're taking about ownership and access to her life's work and I'm honored to represent her in this lawsuit," he said.

Limerick said the lawsuit comes after she tried to find alternative solutions, but the university maintained its position that the university owns her work.

"When it was clear they were going to hold their ground I couldn't think of any other option," she said.

The work Limerick seeks access to includes reports, articles, pictures, speeches, books, blog posts and creative non-fiction she produced dating back to 1968.

Limerick said the lawsuit could help enhance the careers and improve the lives of other professors and researchers when seeking ownership over their work. She said the university's practices do not align with its values of academic scholarship.

"You have ideals, you try to practice the ideals, things get in the way and the ideals slip," she said.

After her removal from the Center of the American West, Limerick created the Applied History Initiative that supports the scholarship and research of young historians. Limerick is a well-known historian, professor, mentor, author and speaker who's received numerous awards and honors for her scholarship and teaching.

Garnett said Limerick could've filed a lawsuit when she was dismissed as the director of the Center for the American West. Instead, he said, she made a professional and reasonable decision that she would move forward, stay positive and continue accomplishing great things.

"I've represented Patty now for almost two years and I've been very impressed by how she dealt with her removal from the Center for American West — which was handled in a very sloppy way for someone of her stature — but she put it behind her and moved forward," Garnett said.

"The one thing she's not going to budge on is her life's work."