A settlement decided this month rescinds the firing of former Student Counseling Services Director Terry Mason, who had alleged he was let go after warning the campus about severe mental health service shortages.

Mason was appointed ISU director of Student Counseling Services in 1993 but was fired in July 2015 by the former vice president for student affairs, Tom Hill.

Mason was fired abruptly and without notice. He then filed a complaint accusing the university of whistleblower retaliation, age discrimination and defamation. But Mason agreed to drop the complaint after President Steven Leath signed to change Mason’s leave from being fired to retiring.

The settlement reads, “The University will update its employee records to reflect that Dr. Mason retired, rather than documenting that Dr. Mason was separated. Further, Dr. Mason agrees not to seek or accept employment with in the University at any time in the future.” 

Through retirement, Mason would be eligible for medical benefits and a $2,000 payout for unused sick leave.

Mason’s complaint included that his service requests for the university were ignored greatly. He included such requests in his complaint and his leave letter.

In the complaint, Mason mentioned the need for more counselors, but the university agreed to only hire one more.

While Mason does not want to comment on the settlement, he does appreciate the work that Iowa State is doing to aid its students’ mental health.

He now owns Synergy Counseling and Consultation, LLC, where he consults with businesses and individuals to help them “be more successful and higher functioning.”

Hill left the university only months after Mason did. Mason reported that Hill wanted a leadership change and that Hill said Mason was unethical and could not be trusted.

The campus warning dates back to 2012, at least. Mason told officials that there was an extreme need for more on-campus counselors, but Iowa State could not provide the needs.

Mason also mentioned this in his letter. He said there should be one full-time counselor for every 1,000 to 1,500 students. At the time, Iowa State was nine counselors short from satisfying that.

Mason mentioned that a “mental health-related disaster would occur on campus” at anytime in his letter to Hill.

Hill, on the other hand, said that providing adequate mental health care is a “moving target” not just for Iowa State. 

“There’s the issue of funding,” Hill said. “There would be very few mental health providers or units that would say we’ve got all the money we need. It’s one of those things you can’t predict. You might have what you think you need today, and tomorrow you have an increase in the individuals needing assistance.”

Moving forward, the university is looking to increase mental illness resources for students. The Board of Regents has agreed to a $24 increase in mandatory health fees. In addition, three psychologists, two nurses and one psychiatrist will join the university to expand health needs.

Editor’s note: This story has been updated to reflect that Thomas Hill referred to Terry Mason as unethical, instead of the other way around as was originally published in the print edition of Jan. 31, 2017.