Mary Easley's grievance over firing is dismissed

RALEIGH -- N.C. State University officials have dismissed a grievance filed last summer by former first lady Mary Easley over her firing, the university announced Thursday.

In a statement, the university said Easley failed to respond to a request to schedule a pre-hearing meeting and the grievance hearing itself.

University officials refused to say more about the grievance, saying it was a personnel matter. Easley was told of the dismissal last Friday, they said.

Easley's attorney, Wade Byrd, also refused to comment.

Easley had a five-year, $850,000 contract to run a speakers series and create a public safety leadership center in 2008. But controversy erupted after The News & Observer reported that her job had been pushed by her husband, former Gov. Mike Easley, and orchestrated at the highest levels of state government.

The university's board of trustees recommended that Interim Chancellor James Woodward end Easley's contract last summer.

Woodward said Easley was no longer needed because substantial portions of her job were eliminated as a result of budget cuts required of the university by the shortfall in the state's budget.

It's unclear on what grounds Easley contested her firing.

A university spokesman said at the time that he couldn't release her grievance petition because it was a personnel record and that the grievance proceedings would remain closed to the public.

It's also not clear whether Easley can continue to dispute her firing within the university system.

Under some circumstances, university employees can appeal to the UNC system's Board of Governors, and some have pursued their grievances in court.