ARCATA -- Humboldt State University Professor Joseph Giovannetti said the settlement of his lawsuit against the university failed to resolve many of the issues at hand.

Giovannetti, Joseph Dupris and Kathleen Hill filed federal suit in September 2001 alleging "discrimination, retaliation and conspiracy." All three are American Indian and said the university had discriminated against them.

The conflicts date back to 1998 and include copyright disputes as well as personnel issues. Dupris and Hill said they were denied access to some of their personnel files. Giovannetti, the department chairman, received tenure but said he was denied an expected promotion.

The university announced a settlement on Wednesday. Hill and Dupris resigned from their positions effective May 23.

On Wednesday, HSU President Rollin Richmond said, "It will clearly take some time to heala," Richmond said. "We will need to rebuild trust between the university and Professor Giovannetti."

Giovannetti said the settlement provided him a promotion to associate professor retroactive to Aug. 22, 2001. He also received back pay. He said he feels that this is an acknowledgment that the university should indeed have promoted him earlier.

He said the California State University system also paid the three professors for personal injuries, although he declined to give the amount. He said university officials insisted that Hill and Dupris agree not to work in the CSU system as part of the settlement.

HSU reported that it was "providing monetary support to help them bridge to new employment opportunities." Giovannetti said the money was for injury damages.

The conflicts relating to the discrimination and retaliation aspects of the suit along with the earlier copyright dispute have not been resolved, Giovannetti said.

He said the department is in the process of recruiting replacements for Hill and Dupris for the 2003-2004 school year, and he hopes those professors might later be converted to tenure-track professors. The future of the Native American Studies department appears bright, he said, and interest in the major has grown despite the conflicts.

"I'm optimistic," Giovannetti said. "The curriculum is strong. We'll get really well-qualified instructors."

He said the new administration that has come in since the suit was filed has improved relations. President Rollin Richmond started on July 1, and longtime dean Rick Vrem was named vice president for academic affairs last month.

Giovannetti said he's looking to move forward, but tensions remain.

"The underlying issues have not been resolved," he said.