U. of Wisconsin-Whitewater Chancellor Resigns After Inquiry Into Husband’s Alleged Harassment

U. of Wisconsin at Whitewater

Updated (12/17/2018, 3:44 p.m.) with comment from the system’s president.

Beverly A. Kopper, chancellor of the University of Wisconsin at Whitewater, will resign just months after the university system opened a second investigation into her husband’s alleged sexual misconduct, she announced on Monday.

Kopper’s husband, Pete Hill, was banned from the campus in June and stripped of an honorary position when an investigation found that he had sexually harassed two women on the Whitewater staff. The university system began a second investigation in September.

After news broke about the results of the first investigation, more women came forward to describe their interactions with Hill and to accuse him of sexual harassment. Some of the women said Kopper was in part responsible for the harassment, and called for her resignation.

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Wisconsin’s governing board this month denied Kopper a raise.

Kopper’s letter announcing her resignation to the Whitewater campus does not mention the investigations into her husband’s conduct.

The system’s president, Raymond W. Cross, issued a statement saying only: “I have accepted Chancellor Beverly Kopper’s decision to resign, effective December 31, 2018. We appreciate her accomplishments during her time as chancellor at the University of Wisconsin–Whitewater.”

In her letter, Kopper wrote: “I have devoted my life to teaching and learning and making a difference. That will never change. I want to share with you that I have submitted my resignation as chancellor, effective December 31, 2018.”

Fernanda Zamudio-Suaréz is breaking-news editor. Follow her on Twitter @FernandaZamudio, or email her at fzamudiosuarez@chronicle.com.