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MADISON, Wis. – According to a survey report, at least seven students or staff members, perhaps as many as ten, said they were sexually harassed by the husband of the former Chancellor of the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, Beverly Kopper.
Kopper's husband, Alan "Pete" Hill, was banned from campus and deprived of his unofficial and ceremonial ceremonial title of Chancellor in June, after a previous investigation identified three women who were in prison. had harassed. Other allegations emerged and the university conducted a second survey from September to December.
The university released Friday the 18-page investigation report and about 850 pages of attachments stemming from this second survey, in response to a request for an Associated Press and Associated Press archive. other media.
UW System spokesman Mark Pitsch said in a statement that UW President Ray Cross had advised Kopper to resign after being informed of the report's findings at the meeting. mid-December.
"She did it, and the report speaks for itself," Pitsch said.
The report found no evidence that Kopper was aware of or facilitated her husband's actions, even though his behavior was "ubiquitous and well known." The report also indicates that a number of university employees have taken steps to protect each other from Hill.
"At best, this suggests that Hill's behavior was a blind spot for the Chancellor," the report says.
There was no definitive proof that Kopper had directly retaliated against anyone who reported sexual harassment to her husband, the report said. However, he also indicated that she had not inquired about the allegations "because she was wearing her chancellor's hat".
The harassment occurred mainly on campus, in academic institutions, including the residence of the Chancellor at official events.
Between seven and ten women said, directly to investigators or other witnesses who reported the same information, that they had been sexually harassed by Hill.
Hill's lawyer, Bob Kasieta, said in an email that Hill had not had time to study the report. Hill had previously denied any wrongdoing.
Kopper became chancellor in 2015 and the first complaints against her husband were filed in 2017. The investigators interviewed 28 people, including Kopper, for the record. Hill did not respond to a request for interview from the investigators, which included a retired FBI agent and three lawyers.
Kopper still receives her Chancellor salary of $ 242,760 while she was on administrative leave until she returned to teach in the fall. Her salary will be reduced to $ 118,308 when she assumes her teaching duties.
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Follow Scott Bauer on Twitter: https://twitter.com/sbauerAP
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