A former spokesman for the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville told the Democrat-Gazette that the federal agency enforcing laws against workforce discrimination declined to pursue legal action against the university after his wrongful-termination complaint.
John Diamond joined UA in 2010 and was fired in 2013. He became a central figure in a dispute over comments made by Chancellor G. David Gearhart about budget documents after the discovery of overspending within the university's main fundraising division.
A month after his firing, Diamond stated under oath to legislators that Gearhart had told other UA officials to "get rid of" budget documents handed out at a meeting.
Gearhart denied ordering the destruction of any documents. He retired in July.
Asked for comment, UA released a statement that the university is aware that the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission closed the case file July 28 without concluding there had been a violation.
Diamond said that after the review of his retaliation complaint, he now has a right to sue the university.
But he said he has no plans to do so, having written a book released last month, Please Delete: How Leadership Hubris Ignited a Scandal and Tarnished a University.
"I just decided I was going to speak through the book and allow that to basically tell my story in the court of public opinion," said Diamond, now president and executive director of the University of Maine Alumni Association.
Diamond also has founded a higher-education communications consulting firm.
Metro on 11/14/2015