A jury has awarded $1.72 million to a former University of Michigan dental student who said she was illegally kicked out of school.
Alissa Zwick claimed she was thrown out of the dental school because of a clash between the associate dean, Dr. Marilyn Lantz, and two faculty members.
A jury in federal court in Detroit said Tuesday that Zwick's due-process rights were violated when she was dismissed in 2005 after her third year. The Southfield woman had a 'B' average but was told she wasn't performing well in clinical classes.
The deliberations lasted about five hours after a 13-day trial. Zwick says she's glad jurors believed her. The university says it's disappointed with the verdict.