After seven years, a long-standing dispute involving Iowa State and a former post-doctoral student has finally ended, putting to rest a tumultuous chapter in ISU history.

In mid-October 2000, Hadi Tabbara, of Lebanese descent, was banned from the ISU campus due to two separate instances of alleged threatening behavior. Tabbara claimed he had been discriminated against.

On Thursday, on the seventh anniversary of his banishment, an agreement was made between Tabbara and the Office of University Council, effectively lifting the ban on Tabbara from stepping on ISU soil.

This agreement will cancel a trial set for Oct. 23 in the Story County Court House.

“The litigation between Dr. Tabbara and Iowa State University has been satisfactorily resolved and we have lifted the ban on Dr. Tabbara from entering the campus,” said Paul Tanaka, university counsel, citing an official statement.

Tabbara, now residing in Arizona, said in an official statement that “it has been a tumultuous road,” and he “feels exonerated” by this agreement. “This has been a long and difficult struggle for me and my family. I greatly appreciate the support of those who have stood by me during this period,” he said. “In particular, professor Bill Kunerth and his wife, Willie. It’s a tremendous relief to have this issue resolved and to be exonerated.”

Tabbara said that because he is not banned from the ISU campus, the decision on whether he will return to the campus is up to Iowa State.

“I will return to the campus only if I am invited by any group or scientists, or for a professional meeting at the university,” he said.

The bigger question on Tabbara’s mind concentrates on why now, after seven years, the ban is being lifted.

“I’ve been asking that question for seven years. I’ve been wanting an agreement for seven years,” he said. “It’s quite sad that resolving issues takes a long time, be it conflicts between individuals, conflicts between individuals and institutions or between countries. And people’s lives are affected because of the delay.”

Tabbara said he would like to see the institution of Iowa State be able to resolve conflict more fairly.

“My last wish for ISU is to implement a true conflict resolution strategy to resolve with fairness and promptness any conflict that arises in its community,” he said.

Tabbara said he is now looking forward to moving on with his life.

“My attention will now be turned towards resolving issues pertaining to agriculture, water resources and the environment,” he said.

The history between Tabbara and Iowa State began in 1986, when he left Iowa State due to personal problems with Ali Tabatabai, professor of agronomy. Tabbara was working as a post-doctoral student at that time.

Tabbara was invited back to the department in 1996 as a visiting scientist after an absence of nine years, the Daily reported.

During this period, Tabbara said he was told that Tabatabai felt threatened by Tabbara, which resulted in him not being allowed into agronomy buildings or facilities because of it.

The Daily reported in 2000 that Tabatabai said he “knew nothing about it” and hadn’t “seen [Tabbara] for years.”

The second incident involved Ramesh Kanwar, professor and chairman of agricultural and biosystems engineering, and disputes from faculty and staff members in the departments of agronomy and agricultural and biosystems engineering involving Tabbara. Kanwar let him go because of monetary reasons in October 1999 while passing requirements for his doctorate. Kanwar later alleged that he had felt threatened by Tabbara.

Because of this, Tabbara felt he had been discriminated against by both Kanwar and Tabatabai based on his nationality.

He filed a civil rights complaint with the ISU Office of Affirmative Action on Oct. 13, 2000.

Then Oct. 20, Tabbara was served with two papers by the Department of Public Safety, one relieving him of his duties in the lab, and the other banning him from the campus. Since then, Tabbara has always held to his discrimination charge at the hands of Tabatabai and Kanwar.

Tabbara’s case has gone from appealing to the Board of Regents in 2001 to the Iowa District Court, which dismissed a petition for judicial review of Iowa State’s decision, to the Iowa Court of Appeals, which ruled against Iowa State and sent the case back to the Iowa District Court in 2005.