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The Board of Trustees has authorized an $875,000 settlement with Steven Salaita, the man who has been the center of many University conversations over the last 14 months.

A University press release sent Thursday stated the University and Salaita reached a settlement that “allows both parties to move forward while focusing on their respective priorities.” Salaita will receive the $600,000 as a lump sum and will not join the Urbana faculty. The remaining $275,000 will pay for Salaita’s attorney fees.RB

Salaita’s federal and circuit court suits will be voluntarily dismissed.

“Considerable time and energy have gone into this case and it is time now to move forward. This negotiated agreement will allow the Urbana campus to focus on our goals of excellence in teaching, research and public engagement,” Wilson said in the release.

Wilson said the University had been trying to work with Salaita’s legal team since January when they entered the lawsuit. She said the time and money spent in trial would have been far greater than the agreed settlement.

Former U.S. District Judge Wayne Andersen was invited to serve as a mediator in October, according to the release.

A press release from Salaita’s legal team, Anand Swaminathan of Loevy & Loevy and Maria LaHood of the Center for Constitutional Rights, also detailed the settlement.

The University release stated that the settlement is not an admission of wrongdoing by the University. Interim Chancellor Barbara Wilson stated the settlement is in everyone’s best interest. However, Swaminathan’s statement argued differently.

“Make no mistake: the size of this settlement is an implicit admission of the strength of Professor Salaita’s constitutional and contractual claims,” Swaminathan said.

Swaminathan regarded the settlement as a “major victory” and said it would not have been possible without the support of academics and activists.

“This settlement is a vindication for me, but more importantly, it is a victory for academic freedom and the First Amendment,” Salaita said in the release.

Salaita and the University have been engaged in a lawsuit since Jan. 29 when Salaita filed a federal suit in the Northern District of Illinois, alleging the University violated his right to academic freedom and caused intentional emotional distressRB.

Salaita’s suit named former chancellor Phyllis Wise, former president Robert Easter, former Board of Trustees chairman Chris Kennedy, Vice President for Academic Affairs Christophe Pierre and unnamed donors.

Salaita was offered a position as a tenure professor in the American Indian Studies department for the 2014-2015 school year. On Aug. 1, 2014, in an email to Salaita, Wise stated she would not forward his appointment on to the board for approval, citing his recent tweets regarding the conflict in Gaza.

On Sept. 11, 2014, the board stood by Wise’s statement and voted not to approve Salaita’s appointment.

On June 13 the AAUP voted to censure the University, meaning it would no longer consider the University an institution that values academic freedom. The University will remain censured until the next annual conference in June 2016, at the earliest.

Neither Swaminathan or LaHood could be reached for immediate contact.

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