A former University associate vice chancellor and dean has been given a scholarship fund in her name after it was determined there was insufficient evidence to prosecute her on the theft charges for which she was arrested last June amid her retirement.The “Dean Carolyn Collins Distinguished Scholar and Citizenship Scholarship Fund” was created in a March 3 agreement between Collins and the University to settle a dispute stemming from the handling of an internal audit which led to Collins’ arrest.The former University College dean was arrested in June 2009, shortly following her retirement announcement, after she was accused of putting $5,050 in University funds on her Tiger Card for personal use during a five-year span.Collins, who was employed at the University for more than 25 years and was the first black dean of an academic college at LSU, denied the charges and said the funds were legally spent on meals for students and staff, according to an LSU Police Department report.Collins was unavailable for comment on this story.Following an internal audit, the details of Collins’ transactions were reported to LSUPD, which forwarded the results of its investigation to the district attorney.But Dana Cummings, a prosecutor in the District Attorney’s Office, said after reviewing the evidence the case was ruled a “no bill,” which means no prosecution took place on the charges.”That means that, based on our opinion, there was insufficient evidence to prove the charges to proceed,” Cummings said.Raymond Lamonica, LSU System general counsel, said he also determined the allegations didn’t merit criminal charges.”From my evaluation, I concluded that it was not a chargeable offense,” Lamonica said.The district attorney’s determination there was insufficient evidence and his own conclusion were made independently of each other, Lamonica said.But the case should not have been forwarded to law enforcement without legal counsel being sought first, Lamonica said.A recommendation was made that “management should consult with legal counsel” to determine whether Collins’s transactions were in violation of any laws, according to the internal audit report released in May 2009.But the case was referred to law enforcement before any legal judgment was sought, Lamonica said.”The audit did not say that she had, in any criminal sense, misappropriated funds,” he said. “The audit addresses whether there were in place appropriate administrative procedures to document the proper use of funds, which is very different from saying someone misappropriated them.”The matter was settled in the March 3 agreement creating Collins’ namesake scholarship, a $2,000 per year award for a freshman or sophomore with a record of community service, according to a news release.The University will make a $10,000 transfer to the LSU Foundation to fund the scholarship. That money will come from the chancellor’s discretionary fund, said Herb Vincent, associate vice chancellor for University Relations.The compromise was made to solve any disputes between Collins and the University that could “lead to litigation and its inherent risks and uncertainties,” according to the settlement.In exchange for the creation of her scholarship, Collins “unconditionally releases and forever discharges LSU” on any claims regarding the situation and agrees neither she nor anyone on her behalf will file any type of legal complaint against the University, the contract says.Collins gave up any potential legal action in the agreement, but Lamonica said she never threatened the University with litigation. Rather, the settlement was initiated by the System president and Board of Supervisors.”LSU regrets the manner in which the response to a routine audit was handled, and we are pleased that the incident has led to such a positive result,” LSU System President John Lombardi said in a news release.The incident led to changes meant to prevent a similar situation from arising in the future, Lamonica said.”We’ve clarified the record-keeping process, and we’ve clarified the process when referrals are made to law enforcement officers without advice of the counsel,” he said.—-Contact Ryan Buxton at [email protected].