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Colorado governor wants professor fired

BOULDER, Colo., May 17 (UPI) -- A University of Colorado committee has ruled Professor Ward Churchill plagiarized, fabricated and falsified material, placing his career in jeopardy.

A 5-member panel said the ethnic-studies professor's academic misconduct was evident in six of seven allegations made against Churchill, the Denver Post reported.

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They include his interpretation of Indian law and his suggestion the U.S. government intentionally spread smallpox to Indians. And in an essay last year, Churchill said the terror attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, were the predictable result of a U.S. foreign policy that caused the deaths of thousands of Iraqi children.

Four of the five scholars who examined Churchill's work for four months said he should be suspended without pay, with two suggesting two years and two suggesting five years.

The fifth committee member said the university should fire him, a sentiment echoed by Gov. Bill Owens, who said Churchill should resign. Owens said Churchill's "prolonged presence ... besmirches the reputation of a fine university and its many outstanding teachers."

A university ruling on his fate is expected by mid-June, the report said.

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