College Prof -- a Convicted Felon -- Still on Payroll at Univ. of Wisconsin
by James L. Lambert
August 29, 2005
(AgapePress) - In March a University of Wisconsin (UW) professor was convicted of three felony counts of repeated sexual contact with three minor girls, ages five, six, and nine. This month a Wisconsin county circuit court sentenced physiology professor Roberto Coronado to eight years in prison. But UW will not sever the employment of the professor, and will keep him on their payroll. The university has been aware of Coronado's case since 2004, when allegations were first filed against the professor. According to a August 9 press release issued by the chancellor's office, UW considered removing the professor from its employment in March but chose not to because a review was required by the school from its governance groups.
According to the Leader-Telegram, a Wisconsin daily newspaper, school policy prevents professors from being fired "solely because they have been found guilty in a court of law." Consequently, even though the Wisconsin professor has been convicted of a felony, the university -- a public institution -- continues to pay Coronado a salary of $137,641 per year, until his vacation leave is exhausted.
Wisconsin State Representative Scott Suder recently told WRN Radio: "The man [Professor Coronado] was convicted of assaulting girls age five, six and nine over the course of 10 years. And he's going to jail and he needs to be fired from the university immediately -- [but] for the life of me I don't understand why UW doesn't sever the ties with this monster."
The state lawmaker has another concern: "It would be a slap in the face to the victims and their families if this pedophile was rewarded a severance package by the university. I hope they do the right thing."
Apparently the controversy involving Coronado is not the first one for UW. Lewis Cohen, a literature professor with the school, was sentenced in July to 30 days in jail and two years' probation after pleading no contest to having sexually explicit conversations with a minor in addition to sharing nude photographs with him. Even though Cohen has been convicted of this crime, the Leader Telegram says the university is still considering "whether Clark violated policies related to faculty conduct that it says could lead to his discipline or dismissal."
And in June yet another UW educator -- associate professor Steven Clark -- was sentenced to one year in jail after being convicted of stalking charges. According to the Wisconsin State Journal all these events have led Suder and eight other Republican lawmakers this week to call for "an independent state audit to determine how many felons are employed by the University of Wisconsin system."
While Wisconsin lawmakers are trying to make sense of UW's employment policies, the university is working hard to defend their policies that includes continuance of employment until cases like that of Professor Coronado are brought forth and resolved by a committee of his peers.
James L. Lambert, a frequent contributor to AgapePress, is the author of Porn in America (Huntington House), which can be purchased through the American Family Association. He is a licensed real-estate mortgage loan sales agent and can be contacted through his website.
