COLUMBUS, Ohio — As a proud Ohio State Alumnus, and Columbus native, professor Deborah Mitchell, says teaching at Ohio State was a dream job. She was voted Outstanding Core Professor by the graduating MBA class of 2017.
As a clinical associate professor in the Fisher School of Business, she says she never dreamed of suing the university to get her teaching job back.
In 2019, she found herself a target of investigation involving the Ohio State Board of Trustees for allegedly violating the schools conflict of interest rules.
The university called it “grave misconduct” and eventually terminated her in August 2019 for her consulting work with the Ohio Department of Medicaid. Former Ohio State president Michael Drake supported the decision.
Ohio State said Mitchell steered a $1.6 million contract with ODM to her private company called Cypress Tree Corporation.
“I was deeply offended that I was accused of stealing from my alma mater and I wanted to clear my name,” Mitchell said.
Mitchell sued the university in federal court.
The lawsuit claimed Ohio State violated Title IX of the Education Amendment of 1972 including discrimination. Mitchell argued other male professors in Fisher were also contracting on the side but no one raised concerns about their work.
“I spoke up about that because it was important to call it out this was culturally thing going on in Fisher and it was only me,” she says.
Mitchell contended in her lawsuit the university failed to follow its own policies for investigating misconduct when Ohio State denied her the right to question her accusers.
Just as the case was about to be scheduled for trial, both side agreed on a settlement on June 3 of this year.
In a statement to 10TV, the university said, “Ohio State strives to be a welcoming workplace where all employees have the opportunity for career growth and development. We are not going to comment on this specific personnel matter.”
“There was no admission of guilt on anyone’s part. I think the fact that I’m back and the university has welcomed me back, that speaks volumes in terms of my innocence or lack of guilt,” she says.
As part of the settlement agreement, Mitchell agreed to dismiss any complaints against the university and never file any action against the university in the future.
“I am really excited to back as a member of the faculty at the Ohio State University,” Mitchell said.