Lawsuit settled over Civil War materials

CARBONDALE, Ill., Dec. 12 (UPI) -- The Ulysses S. Grant Association and Southern Illinois University-Carbondale have reached an out-of-court settlement over Civil War materials, the school said.

The settlement deals with Civil War-era materials collected in Carbondale by the late history professor John Simon, the association's executive director, the Daily Egyptian of Carbondale, Ill., reported.

The newspaper said details of the agreement will be released Tuesday. Until then, both sides have agreed not to comment on the litigation.

"From the beginning it was hoped that the differences could be worked out without having to go to court. Both sides were able to get together and hammer out an agreement, and it's great that the relationship can continue," SIUC spokesman Rod Sievers said.

The Grant Association board voted unanimously to name retired Mississippi State University professor John Marszalek as the group's new executive director.

Association President Frank Williams has said Mississippi State would be the new home of the association. Talks had been under way to move the collection since Simon was fired by SIUC over sexual harassment allegations. He died in July, the newspaper said.