Daily Staff Writer

A federal jury decided for Iowa State in a lawsuit filed by former Department of Architecture professor Mark Mumford. Mumford claimed he had been improperly denied tenure and that his free speech rights were violated.

Mumford sued the university for $800,000 in damages and legal fees and reinstatement of his position.

Mumford also made several other allegations claiming the university violated his due process rights and and did not follow its own policies. These were dismissed by the court early on in the trial.

The jury took only two hours to deliver its verdict after nearly four days of testimony. The jury also said that Mumford’s free speech rights had not been violated.

The university claims this as a victory for deciding its own policies, which was echoed by the attorney for ISU and Assistant Iowa Attorney General CeCe Ibsen.

“This shows that the courts recognize tenure decisions are best left to the institutions themselves,” she said.

Mumford could not be reached for comment.