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4 Finalists Named In Search For New UW-Whitewater Chancellor

Search Follows December Resignation Of Former Chancellor Beverly Kopper

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Four finalists have been named in the search for a new chancellor at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater. The search follows the resignation of former Chancellor Beverly Kopper in the wake of allegations that her husband sexually harassed multiple students and employees.

The finalists include Cheryl F. Green, interim UW-Whitewater chancellor; Guiyou Huang, Louisiania State University of Alexandria chancellor; Dwight C. Watson, Southwest Minnesota State University provost and vice president of academic and student affairs; and Phillip K. Way, provost and vice president of academic and student affairs at Slippery Rock University in Slippery Rock, Pennsylvania.

UW System Regent Tracey Klein, a co-chair of the chancellor search and screen committee, said their goal was to make sure the finalists would be embraced by the campus and its branch campus UW-Rock County.

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“Another objective is that we leave the place better than we found it as regents, which means the best thing we can do for a campus is recruit great leadership,” said Klein.

She said there were around 40 candidates in total, which were narrowed down during three days of meetings and interviews with applicants over the weekend. The list of finalists were named on Tuesday.

“In a couple of them, I heard something that I just really liked,” said Klein. “Which is this idea of harnessing the power of shared governance to really transform the institution rather than just making it a checkpoint.”

Klein said members of the campus and the search and screen committee were diligent and dedicated to making sure the right group of candidates were found. She said students and UW-Whitewater employees were adamant they weren’t looking for a chancellor that would try to remake the university. Instead, she said the goal was to find someone to help further projects already underway, like a strategic enrollment initiative aimed at developing high demand courses in hopes of attracting new students.

UW-Whitewater’s next chancellor will fill the seat vacated by Kopper. She resigned on Dec. 31 amid sexual harassment allegations against her husband, Pete Hill, involving at least seven women on campus. Hill held an honorary title with the university and sometimes worked out of her office.

UW System President Ray Cross banned Kopper’s husband from campus in June 2018 as a result. An investigation was initiated by the UW System, which found that Hill made unwanted advances to students and employees on and off campus. It also said, “Hill’s behavior was a blind spot for the chancellor.”

The resignation letter sent by Kopper to Cross said, “I am aware that the Board of Regents would like different leadership for UW-Whitewater.”

Kopper, through an attorney, has said the investigative report was “rampant with speculation.”

David Simmons, UW-Whitewater Faculty Senate chair, said employees at the university didn’t see the results of the sexual harassment investigation into Hill until the report was made public in press reports on April 19. Simmons also said Cross told faculty governance leaders in December that the investigative report on Hill was inconclusive.

“From my perspective as the Faculty Senate chair, I have had reports from some faculty who were quite concerned about those events,” said Simmons. “Many other faculty felt that the former Chancellor Beverly Kopper should not be held accountable for the actions of her husband.”

As for the four finalists named to potentially replace Kopper, Simmons said he and other employees are still learning about the finalists for the chancellor position.

“One of the things we’re doing now is trying to find out as much about each candidate as possible and that will depend a lot on their campus visits and how they go,” he said.

The four candidates will participate in separate public forums, according to the UW System press release sent Tuesday, but a schedule for those forums hasnā€™t yet been released.

Cross and the search and screen committee will interview the four finalists once again on May 17.

Simmons said the sexual harassment allegations, investigation and resignation were major issues for the UW-Whitewater campus community, but many are looking to the future of the institution.

“So, a lot of that, in some ways is at this point behind us,” said Simmons. “We’re now focused on what the new chancellor will do for the institution. I think there are other larger systemic issues coming from (the UW) System.”

Simmons said those issues include the ongoing restructuring of the UW System, which merged two-year campuses with four-year universities. UW-Whitewater was paired with UW-Rock County in the process. He said other concerns among faculty include a strategic enrollment planning process at Whitewater, and a new UW System policy aimed at monitoring productivity among faculty and staff.