The conclusions of the investigative committee that examined seven allegations of research misconduct against University of Colorado ethnic-studies professor Ward Churchill:

• Charge A: That Churchill misrepresented the General Allotment Act of 1887 in his writings by incorrectly writing that it created a "blood quantum" standard that allowed tribes to admit members only if they had at least half native blood.

Finding: Falsification and failure to comply with established standards regarding author names on publications.

• Charge B: That Churchill misrep- resented the Indian Arts and Crafts Act of 1990 by incorrectly writing that the act imposed a "blood quantum" requiring artists to prove they were one-quarter Indian by blood.

Finding: Falsification and failure to comply with established standards regarding author names on publications.

• Charge C: That Churchill incorrectly claimed there was "some pretty strong circumstantial evidence" that Capt. John Smith introduced smallpox among the Wampanoag Indians between 1614 and 1618.

Finding: Falsification and fabrication.

• Charge D: That in several writings Churchill falsely accused the U.S. Army of committing genocide by distributing blankets infested with smallpox to Mandan Indians in the Upper Missouri River Valley in 1837.

Finding: Falsification, fabrication, failure to comply with established standards regarding author names on publications and serious deviation from accepted practices in reporting results from research. The committee also found that Churchill was "disrespectful of Indian oral tradition."

• Charge E: That Churchill claimed as his own work a 1972 pamphlet about a water-diversion scheme in Canada titled The Water Plot. The work actually was written by a now-defunct environmental group, "Dam the Dams."

Finding: Plagiarism.

• Charge F: That Churchill plagiarized part of an essay written by Rebecca L. Robbins in a book he published in 1993.

Finding: Research misconduct

• Charge G: That Churchill plagiarized the writings of Canadian professor Fay G. Cohen in a 1992 essay.

Finding: Plagiarism.Source: University Of Colorado Report Of The Investigative Committee

What's next

• Response: Ward Churchill will get time to respond to the report. CU spokesman Barrie Hartman said the university expects response in two weeks.

• Recommendation: CU's Standing Committee on Research Misconduct will make a recommendation to Provost Susan Avery and Arts and Sciences Dean Todd Gleeson, about what action, if any, should be taken against Churchill.

• Final decision: Avery and Gleeson hope to have a final decision by mid-June.

• Appeal: Churchill can appeal to Privilege and Tenure Committee.

• Termination: If terminated, Churchill, he may appeal to CU president. The Board of Regents must vote to approve any dismissal.

Under fire: from the beginning

• 1978: The University of Colorado hires Ward Churchill as an administrative assistant in the American Indian Equal Opportunities Program, which counsels Indian students. Over the next 10 years, he also lectures on Indian topics.

• 1991: Churchill receives tenure and is appointed an associate professor in CU's communications department.

• 1994: Students vote Churchill winner of Boulder Faculty Assembly teaching award.

• 1997: Churchill is appointed full professor, and his tenure is transferred to the ethnic-studies department.

• 2002: Churchill named chairman of ethnic-studies department.

• Jan. 21, 2005: In advance of a speaking appearance by Churchill, a reporter at a student newspaper in New York writes a story about a little-known essay the professor wrote Sept. 12, 2001. In it, Churchill referred to some victims of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks as "little Eichmanns," after Nazi Adolf Eichmann, one of the architects of the Holocaust. In the next few days, the story is picked up by other media and widely publicized.

• Feb. 3, 2005: The CU Board of Regents, under pressure from lawmakers and the public to fire Churchill, apologizes for his "disgraceful comments" and orders an investigation into whether he should be dismissed.

• March 24, 2005: CU Chancellor Phil DiStefano says Churchill's comments about 9/11 were protected by the First Amendment. But he determines allegations of fraud and plagiarism against Churchill warrant further inquiry by CU's Standing Committee on Research Misconduct.

• May 24, 2005: Churchill meets with the committee. His attorney later says Churchill told the committee the investigation was a politically motivated "witch hunt."

• June 4, 2005: The Rocky Mountain News publishes an investigation of Churchill's work. In it, the News finds problems in all four major areas being reviewed by the CU panel, as well as new allegations of research misconduct. Less than two weeks later, DiStefano announces he will add some of the News' findings to his complaint against Churchill.

• Sept. 9, 2005: The standing committee announces it is sending seven of the nine charges of possible research misconduct to an ad hoc investigative committee for further review.

• November 2005: Two members of the five-person investigative committee resign amid criticism that they have expressed support for Churchill in the past and would not be impartial. They are replaced by two scholars from outside CU.

• April 13, 2006: CU informs Churchill it is launching another inquiry into his work. The complaint stems from allegations that Churchill fabricated material in two books.

• May 9, 2006: The five-member panel - which includes three CU professors - completes its investigation and turns its findings over to the standing committee. Churchill's attorney sends a letter to CU, calling the newest inquiry harassment and threatening to sue if it is not dropped.

• May 16, 2006: CU releases the investigative committee's report, which concludes Churchill committed deliberate and serious misconduct, including plagiarism and fabrication of material. One committee member recommends he be fired; the others suggest he be suspended without pay for two or five years. Churchill calls the report "a travesty."

Who's who in the Churchill investigation

STANDING COMMITTEE

This 12-member panel reviewed interim Chancellor Philip DiStefano's complaint and decided it should be sent to an investigative committee for further review:

Members

• Joseph Rosse, chairman, director of Office of Research Integrity

• Russell Moore, professor of kinesiology and applied physiology

• Cortlandt Pierpont, professor of chemistry and biochemistry

• Sanjai Bhagat, professor, Leeds School of Business

• Steven R. Guberman, associate professor, School of Education

• Ron Pak, professor of civil engineering

• Bella Mody, professor, School of Journalism and Mass Communication

• Richard Collins, professor, School of Law

• Judith Glyde, professor, College of Music

• Uriel Nauenberg, professor of physics

• Linda Morris, assistant, Office of Associate Vice Chancellor for Graduate Education/Research

• Tind Shepper Ryen, graduate student, representative of United Government of Graduate Students

INVESTIGATIVE COMMITTEE

The five-member panel that conducted the investigation:

Members

• Marianne "Mimi" Wesson, committee chairwoman, professor, CU School of Law

• Marjorie McIntosh, CU professor of history

• Michael Radelet, CU professor of sociology

• Jose Limon, professor of English, University of Texas at Austin

• Robert N. Clinton, professor of law, Arizona State UniversitySource: University Of Colorado