News
Barrows walks away from UW
Looking for a print version?
Simply use your browser’s ‘Print’ command and a printer-friendly document will be generated automatically.
Also by Mike Gendall:
Sharing tools:
E-mail this article:
Less than a year after insisting he has no plans to leave the University of Wisconsin, Paul Barrows has retired.
Barrows, who is African American, has long accused Chancellor John Wiley and other university administrators of racism over their handling of sexual-harassment allegations made against him in 2004. At the time, he was vice chancellor for student affairs.
Though Barrows was suspended for several months and given an almost $120,000 pay cut upon his return, a UW committee later found the allegations to be unconvincing and said disciplinary action against the former vice chancellor was unjustified.
According to Barrows, who had been in his new position as senior administrative program specialist in the office of the provost since September 2005, working with the UW administration became too trying.
"For my own spiritual health and personal redemption, I exercised my option," Barrows said in a phone interview Wednesday. "I no longer want to be part of a team that's rotten at the core."
In a Nov. 17 e-mail acquired by The Badger Herald, Barrows informed Provost Patrick Farrell of his "early retirement" from the university, effective Nov. 9, but does not document a reason.
Though it is unclear what benefits Barrows' retirement entitles him to, the former vice chancellor reiterated several times Wednesday that early retirement is an option he has "earned."
Despite his early retirement, Barrows said he is "not letting up one bit" in pursuing legal action against the university, Wiley and former Dean of Students Luoluo Hong for their actions.
Instead, Barrows' attorney Lester Pines said he will file a new lawsuit against the university as early as next week.
According to Pines, the Wisconsin Claims Board's decision Wednesday to deny a contract claim against the university opens the state up to a lawsuit.
The claim centers around an April 2005 job offer from Hunter College in New York, which would have paid Barrows a salary of $150,000. Barrows said he was prepared to accept that offer, but Wiley allegedly promised to meet that salary if Barrows remained in Madison.
Instead, Barrows was given a salary of just $72,881 in his new position.
"In reliance on that promise, Dr. Barrows turned down that Hunter College job, but the university never gave him the $150,000 per year job," Pines said. "That gave rise to a claim that is called a contract claim."
UW Communications Director Amy Toburen said Wednesday she is aware of pending legal action against the university and declined comment on its specific ramifications.
She also offered a positive perspective on a man whose presence has garnered a bevy of negative attention on the UW administration.
"He's had a very productive career here and has made a lot of contributions over time," Toburen said. "He did a lot of positive things."
Barrows, who did not rule out continuing his career in higher education, had worked at the university since 1989.
7 Comments | Leave a comment
Leave a comment
Herald Blogs
The Beat Goes On
Muckrakers
President’s Visit Marked a Speech to One of the Last Groups Not Critical of Him
Extra Points
Top Classified Ads (view all)
HOUSES FOR Fall 2010. All houses are on W Dayton or N Bassett. 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, or 8 bedrooms. All have parking. madisoncampusrentals.com
Barrows is a bigot race-baiter. Good riddance! But he hasn’t screwed the UW for enough money yet, so he’s gotta go play the race card to try and cash out even more. A real student role model!
take Barrett with you
I have heard Barrows has a huge legal case against UW. It’s a bad situation for the UW administration.
The UW demonstrated collosal and shameful incompetence in this case. It is we students who will bear the cost for what was really only a clumsy power play among administrators.
I agree. A new chancellor is needed to clean up this mess. The behavior of the whole UW administration has been just grotesque.
Did anyone ever reach out and smack the girl who started this whole deal?
I assume by “the girl” you mean Dean Luoluo (sp?) Hung? According to the papers, no female students ever filed complaints against Barrows. Then Dean Hung put some accusations in an explosive memo, leaked it TV 27, and split for Arizona. When the whole mess came before the faculty committee, the UW admin sent two of the poor women named in Hung’s memo before the panel where they were shredded (and found to be lacking credibility). The women sure weren’t protected by the UW lawyers (one of whom “resigned” shortly after). But the damage to the UW, and to Barrows, had already been done. Now we pay.