Jacksonville, FL — Nearly a year after he resigned from his role following behavior that was described as unbecoming, a former dean at the University of North Florida has lost a bid to retain his post.
WOKV first reported in October 2018 when an email from UNF outlined the allegations against Dr. Mark Tumeo, who served as the dean of the College of Computing, Engineering, and Construction. UNF reported at the time that he had engaged in a consensual sex act. A copy of the field identification report about the incident revealed that Tumeo admitted to police that he engaged in a sex act with a man he met through an online app. But the report revealed that Tumeo initially tried to tell police that the other man just bent down to tie his shoe which may have 'looked out of place.' Another university employee claims he witnessed the two in the act on the outside stairwell adjacent to the press box entrance of UNF's stadium, according to the report.
In July of 2019, he testified in court that he was coerced into resigning, and sought judgment from a Duval County Circuit Court judge to be reinstated to his post.
Tumeo said that he was put on administrative the night of the event. He testified that the next morning he received a call from the university provost, asking if he planned to resign.
“She said, ‘This is very serious.’ I said, ‘I understand.’ Then she said, ‘You have two minutes to resign or we’ll start an investigation,’” Tumeo said.
He testified he wanted to seek legal advice, and that he was distraught and hadn’t slept all night.
“I said, ‘Can I have some time to think about this? Can I contact somebody? Can I come in and make my case?’ At that point she paused. I don’t know if she turned to someone, but she said, ‘No, but we’ll give you three minutes,’” he said.
According to a final judgement by Judge Kevin Blazs released on Thursday, had Tumeo not resigned an investigation would have gone forward and Tumeo may have taken advantage of the grievance process. The judge ruled that Tumeo’s complaint for relief and declarative judgment was denied.
