A chairman of the Department of Horticulture was ordered to pay $25,000 in a slander suit involving a former MSU employee.

Joan Runkel filed a lawsuit in August 2001 against Ronald Perry, chairman of the department, after he made comments to other staff members accusing her of trespassing on his property, entering his residence and destroying property.

George Brookover, Runkel's attorney, said all accusations against her were false.

"(Perry) did it behind her back," he said.

Perry could not be reached for comment on Tuesday.

Ingham County Circuit Court Judge James Giddings awarded Runkel $25,000 for the false statements in March.

Brookover said Perry was one of Runkel's supervisors when she worked for the university as a part-time researcher.

Runkel depends on the success of her orchard business for financial stability and that she took legal action to clear her name, Brookover said.

In November, Perry sent a apology letter to Runkel, in which he took back the statements which led to the lawsuit.

In the statement Perry said, "As I now see things, I did not have factual information that made it sensible for me to voice my suspicion to anyone. I regret that I did not treat the matter with more discretion."

Runkel did not want to discuss the details of the case, but Brookover said she is happy the issue is over.

In a personal statement, Runkel said, "This man made every effort to destroy my reputation in the (agricultural) community. His position as a leader in the horticultural community gave credence to false statements that were damning and demeaning to me, both personally and professionally."

University spokesman Terry Denbow said he could not speculate on how the case would affect both parties involved, even though it was an internal university issue.

"It would be inappropriate for us to comment at this time," he said.