UNC Academic Scandal 'Resolved' at Last? Mary Willingham and School Officials Announce Settlement
ByMary Willingham, the whistleblower in the UNC - Chapel Hill academic scandal, has settled her lawsuit against the school and will not return as an employee.
According to the Associated Press, the former reading specialist sued the school eight months ago for being demoted as retaliation for her speaking out about the scandal. Willingham resigned before her lawsuit was settled, but sought to return to her former post after it was finished.
The AP could not obtain the conditions of the settlement, but Willingham confirmed she would not be returning to UNC - Chapel Hill. She had maintained in her suit that she felt forced to resign and sought to resume her job in addition to financial damages.
"We appreciate the efforts of the mediator to help us achieve a successful and timely conclusion to the mediation," school spokesman Rick White said in a statement. "We believe the settlement is in the best interest of (UNC) and allows us to move forward and fully focus on other important issues."
He said the settlement with Willingham "resolves all of the outstanding legal issues in the case," the AP reported.
Willingham first made headlines when she spoke out about mentoring some student-athletes at UNC - Chapel Hill who read at elementary school levels and others who were illiterate. She later accused the school of hosting "paper classes" in the African and African-American Studies department that rarely or never met and only required one essay for a final grade.
UNC - Chapel Hill later hired former U.S. Justice Department official Kenneth Wainstein to investigate the matter. He found school administrators knew about the classes and academic advisers were directing students and student-athletes to these classes to remain eligible for their sport.
"I wanted to show other potential whistleblowers out there that it's possible to survive a fight with a big-money machine," Willingham said in a statement. "I thought it was time to get focused back on the issue of athletes and their educations - to correct the injustice in the NCAA system. I'm satisfied with the result."
