On the heels of an open forum on the role of Northwestern founder John Evans in the Sand Creek Massacre, the University announced Friday it is fast-tracking the creation of a second committee on the issue.

The first John Evans Study Committee is expected to deliver a report by June on Evans’ complicity in the 1864 slaying of more than 100 Cheyenne and Arapaho people — and whether NU profited financially from the massacre during its nascent years. The second committee was intended to form after and make a recommendation to the University based on the initial findings, but University President Morton Schapiro and Provost Dan Linzer said no matter what Evans’ role is ultimately determined to be, a second committee can assist in improving the current campus climate for Native Americans.

“Regardless of the findings of the committee, however, we believe that there are things that Northwestern University can do now to make the University a more welcoming place for Native Americans,” Schapiro and Linzer said in a statement.

The University is soliciting recommendations immediately for “persons with expertise or interest” in the issues to sit on the new committee.

“The group will be asked to make recommendations for ways that Northwestern can define more clearly the University’s relationships with Native Americans in the areas of academic programs, admissions, support services, and civic engagement and partnerships, as well as respond to the recommendations of the study committee,” Schapiro and Linzer said.

— Joseph Diebold