24-03-2025
Ohio Northern settles with former professor
Mar. 24—ADA — Ohio Northern University entered into a settlement agreement with a former professor who sued the school and top university officials for reportedly firing him in retaliation for his political views.
The agreement, signed by Ohio Northern President Melissa Baumann and former law professor Scott Gerber on March 19, brings an end to years of litigation between the parties two weeks before the case was set to be heard by a jury in Hardin County.
Ohio Northern agreed to reinstate Gerber to his former position and faculty rank, in exchange for Gerber's agreement to retire immediately upon reinstatement, according to the settlement agreement filed in Hardin County Common Pleas Court.
Ohio Northern acknowledged through the agreement that Gerber "provided outstanding teaching, scholarship and service during his years on the Ohio Northern University faculty."
The university also acknowledged Gerber "at no time was ever a public safety risk to any member of the ONU community nor acted with moral turpitude," resolving a defamation claim Gerber raised in his lawsuit.
"Ohio Northern University is pleased to have reached a resolution to this personnel issue," university spokesman David Kielmeyer said in a statement Monday. "The compromise reached through this legal settlement brings this matter to a close."
Attorney Steve Forbes said, "Dr. Gerber is pleased that Ohio Northern recognized that he is an outstanding professor and that they rescinded his termination and reinstated him."
The settlement calls for Ohio Northern to dismiss with prejudice a lawsuit against Gerber in U.S. District Court, with court costs paid by the university.
In return, Gerber agreed to discontinue any complaints or lawsuits against Ohio Northern and cease publication of his planned memoir "Cancelled."
All parties agreed not to publicly discuss settlement terms beyond those listed in public court documents. The settlement bars all parties from disparaging one another in public or private as well.
Gerber filed his lawsuit in Hardin County Common Pleas Court to reverse his termination from the Ohio Northern University Pettit College of Law, where worked as a tenured professor until the school fired him in 2023.
The lawsuit alleges Ohio Northern terminated Gerber in retaliation for his raising concerns about diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives and what he believed to be illegal hiring practices favoring minorities and women at the law school.
Ohio Northern officials denied these allegations in court filings, which describe an alleged pattern of bullying, harassment and intimidation of colleagues preceding Gerber's termination.
The university filed its own lawsuit in U.S. District Court in January alleging Gerber was using litigation to seek political and personal revenge for past grievances.
Ohio Northern attorneys then sought to dismiss the Hardin County case weeks later, but Hardin County Common Pleas Court Judge Jonathan Hein denied the motion.
The settlement agreement averts a jury trial slated to begin April 7 in Hardin County.
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