Dive Brief:
- Former University of Louisville Director of Marketing Publications Laurel Harper was awarded $412,000 in a whistleblower jury verdict Friday in Jefferson Circuit Court.
- The lawsuit was filed after the university allegedly eliminated Harper, who also claimed she was the victim of gender discrimination, five days after she complained about wasteful spending in 2011.
- The jury ruled against Harper on the gender discrimination claim, but awarded her $225,000 in back pay, with the remainder of damages covering mental anguish.
Dive Insight:
Harper's complaint centered around $650,000 spent on a kickoff party for a $1 billion fundraising campaign, as well as the amount the university spent on video advertisements during U of L games and to hold vendors on retainer. University spokesman Mark Hebert says Harper was part of a round of workforce reduction layoffs made in the school's creative services department in 2011 and that university administrators were unaware of her claims.