Sexual harassment scandal led to Wisconsin educator’s downfall

On Behalf of | Dec 19, 2018 | Employment Law

Some are hailing the decision by University of Wisconsin-Whitewater Chancellor Beverly Kopper to step down from her position on Dec. 31. Kopper announced her resignation in the wake of multiple allegations of sexual harassment by female university employees against her husband.

But state Sen. Steve Nass calls the chancellor’s exit agreement “a taxpayer-funded scam.” Kopper will be paid more than $160,000 while on administrative leave through August 2019, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported.

When the new academic year begins, Kopper will take a pay cut to a 9-month salary of $118,308. She’ll join the faculty as a tenured psychology professor through May 2020, the newspaper said.

“Paying anyone $161,849 with full state benefits to do almost nothing for eight months is a taxpayer-funded scam,” Nass said in a statement.

Kopper, 64, had faced pressure to resign for months after it was reported that her husband had been banned from campus over multiple sexual harassment allegations. Kopper was also accused of creating a hostile work environment.

Kopper did not mention her husband or the accusations against him in her one-sentence resignation letter, but acknowledged that the board of regents wanted new leadership at the school.

A university investigation determined that there was “merit” to the claims that Kopper’s husband, Pete Hill, had sexually harassed at least two employees. In addition, the Journal Sentinel reported that Hill had been stripped of an honorary, unpaid position that had enabled him to speak at fundraising events for University of Wisconsin-Whitewater. 

If you have endured sexual harassment at your workplace, contact a Milwaukee employment law firm known for aggressively protecting workers’ rights.

 

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