A former candidate for the University's vice president of student affairs position, Paul Barrows, resigned abruptly as University of Wisconsin's vice chancellor of student affairs last fall after a student reported having a relationship with him to administrators, a UW official said.
Barrows told the Texan Wednesday he was withdrawing his name from the pool of three candidates in the running to replace Vice President of Student Affairs James Vick, who will teach math full time in the fall. Barrows did not give a reason. He also notified UT President Larry Faulkner Wednesday, said UT spokesman Don Hale. Faulkner was unavailable for comment.
Additionally, eight Wisconsin state representatives provided their signatures on a letter sent Thursday to UW Chancellor John Wiley, requesting clarity as to why Barrows was collecting sick pay during his seven-month leave while he simultaneously pursued a job at UT-Austin.
Barrows, 53, suddenly resigned as vice chancellor of student affairs at UW last November, citing "family-related issues." He had worked for the University since 1989 and was considered the point man for diversity at the predominately white school.
Casey Nagy, executive assistant to the chancellor, said the relationship between Barrows and a female graduate student, who was also a University employee outside of Barrows' department, was "consensual." The student notified the chancellor's office sometime after the relationship ended because "she felt uncomfortable in retrospect about the nature of their relationship," Nagy said. The chancellor counseled Barrows when the relationship came to light and determined there was no violation of university policy or state law. No disciplinary action was taken.
"We went through all of those checks and balances," Nagy said. "But at the same time, the chancellor informed Mr. Barrows that, given that he was the titular head of the student affairs position, it was poor judgement to have a relationship with an employee who was also at the time a graduate student."
Nagy said the incident contributed "indirectly" to Barrows' leave, in conjunction with a "number of personal and family issues."
Court records show Barrows recently finalized a divorce from his wife, Wilma.
Wisconsin state legislators said in Wednesday's letter, "We believe the taxpayers of Wisconsin deserve to know a little more than the university has been willing to divulge about the status of Barrows, who is apparently well enough to seek a job in another state, while exhausting more than 80 days of sick leave over the past few months. It's unclear if Barrows, or the university, is following guidelines in taking so much sick time."
UW Chancellor John Wiley responded with a letter that was also sent to Wisconsin's governor, U.S. representatives and U.S. senators. In the letter, Wiley said the sick leave was physician-authorized. Citing confidentiality laws, he did not disclose what specific medical circumstances led to Barrows' seven-month reprieve.
Barrows will return to UW on Monday as a special assistant to Wiley, Nagy said.
Barrows is the second candidate to withdraw from the running for vice president of student affairs since a search committee recommended a final pool of four, out of an initial 55, to Faulkner in April. Later that month, Peg Blake, vice president of student affairs at Boise State University, withdrew after Boise police charged her with driving under the influence of alcohol.
The remaining candidates are Zenaido Camacho, managing director of Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center-El Paso, and Juan Gonzalez, vice president of student affairs at Arizona State University.
Faulkner is expected to make an announcement concerning the position early next week, Hale said.
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