A researcher at the University of Nevado at Reno who complained to federal officials about animal abuse at the institution has been fired and banned from the campus, the Reno Gazette-Journal reported.

Hussein S. Hussein, an associate professor in the department of animal biotechnology, told the newspaper that he had been escorted from his office “by campus police as if I were a criminal.”

Mr. Hussein’s dismissal follows a disciplinary hearing last month to examine allegations that he had plagiarized the work of his graduate students and withheld some donated research money that should have gone to the university to cover indirect costs. The hearing officer found that Mr. Hussein had kept the institution from collecting $377,000 in costs, but that he didn’t deserve to be fired, according to the paper. The hearing officer did not find that Mr. Hussein had plagiarized students’ research.

Mr. Hussein’s complaints about the treatment of animals at the university resulted in the institution’s paying a fine of $11,400 in 2005.

Mr. Hussein’s lawyer said he planned to file an appeal with the Nevada Board of Regents. —Audrey Williams June