Dean accused of harassment resurfaces at 2 other schools

STEVENS POINT, Wis. (AP) — A University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point official who handled sexual misconduct complaints and resigned when he was accused of sexually harassing a woman on campus in 2015, went on to hold positions handling similar complaints at two other universities, according to newly released documents.

UW-Stevens Point placed Shawn Wilson, assistant dean of students, on leave in September 2015 following the harassment complaint and he resigned the following month, according to university documents obtained by the Stevens Point Journal and the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

The university investigated and found Wilson, the school’s Title IX coordinator, had sexually harassed a woman at the Dreyfus Community Center during move-in weekend on campus in August 2015. Wilson denied the accusations.

Title IX is a federal civil rights law that prohibits sexual discrimination in education. Wilson’s job included responding to complaints of sexual and behavioral misconduct.

In January 2016, Wilson took a new job as associate dean of students for Knox College in Galesburg, Illinois, where his duties also included serving as deputy Title IX coordinator. Knox College spokeswoman Megan Scott said the school conducts background and reference checks before hiring and generally would not hire an individual a person accused of sexual harassment to be associated with Title IX. Wilson worked at Knox until the following September.

The University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire hired Wilson in August 2017 as interim dean of students, which again included responding to Title IX complaints. His tenure in Eau Claire lasted three months. Katie Jore, associate vice chancellor at UW-Stevens Point, said the school contacted UW-Eau Claire after learning that Wilson had been hired there. He resigned in November 2017.

Jore said that Knox College and UW-Eau Claire had called Wilson’s former supervisor for reference checks. Both colleges told the Stevens Point Journal that the sexual harassment complaint did not come up in those checks.

Wilson’s number is not listed in phone records.