The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater took its first step toward terminating Graduate Studies Dean Lee Jones Friday, demoting him to his contractual concurrent position as a faculty member in the department of educational foundations.
"There are folks that believe he should be gone from campus," UW-Whitewater spokesperson Sara Kuhl said.
University officials believe Jones, the subject of a UW System audit completed last month, misused university funds.
As witnessed in last week's state Supreme Court case involving former UW-Superior communication arts professor John Marder, however, Kuhl noted "tenure is a very sacred thing," and said the university is proceeding with caution.
The audit is currently being held up in the court system as Jones has filed suit to block its release, arguing to do so would hurt UW-Whitewater's diversity efforts.
David Lasker, Jones' attorney, did not return a call for comment as of press time.
In an interview with The Associated Press, however, Lasker called Jones' demotion an "overreaction" from the UW System, which has been heavily scrutinized over past months for not moving quickly enough to dismiss troublesome employees.
Lasker has argued against releasing the report to a state representative and several media outlets on grounds of protecting the university's diversity interests.
Jones, he said, is a "very well known African-American educator nationally," and claimed a number of his client's highly regarded colleagues are "greatly concerned" by the ramifications of UW-Whitewater's actions.
Should the audit be publicized, he said, it would tarnish the university's reputation among minority students and faculty.
Because of legal constraints, Kuhl declined to go into any detail regarding the audit's content, but referenced comments UW-Whitewater Chancellor Martha Saunders made to The Associated Press.
The audit, Saunders said, identified faults in since-corrected university travel and spending policies. It remains unclear how the audit would hurt the university's diversity efforts if publicized.
Kuhl said Jones' demotion or eventual departure from the university will not hurt the school at all, referencing the chancellor's commitment to diversity.
Jones is not the only UW-Whitewater employee to raise questions of race in the audit system, however, judging by comments made by Howard Ross, dean of the College of Letters and Sciences, to The Associated Press last week.
He and Jones, Ross said, are the only black deans in the UW System, and Lasker additionally pointed out they are the only two deans on the Whitewater campus to have been audited.
"I'm very sorry to hear Dr. Ross make those accusations," Kuhl said, noting "smart [and] ethical" people handled both audits. "I don't think race has anything to do with the audit process."
According to Kuhl, audits are part of "standard operating procedure" and can be initiated either as a routine checkup into rules or regulations, or in response to suspicion or allegations.
— The Associated Press contributed to this report.
