A committee at California State University, Northridge, considered controversial professor Ward Churchill the best candidates for the school's new Indian studies program, a former official said.

In 1991, the school flew Churchill out to California and interviewed him, said Warren Furumoto, the former associate vice president for academic services. But Churchill got a better offer at the University of Colorado, Furumoto said.

CU ended up putting Churchill on the fast track to tenure. He is now under review after he generated controversy with an essay about the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. His academic credentials and claims of Indian ancestry have been scrutinized.

Get the Story:
Ex-official says school had wooed Churchill (The Boulder Daily Camera 3/10)
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Churchill's 9/11 Essay:
"Some People Push Back" On the Justice of Roosting Chickens (Pockets of Resistance September 2001)

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