After an investigation of sexual harassment accusations and subsequent professional analysis of University Health Services' management and staff morale, former UHS Director of Clinical Services Scott Spear stepped down from his position Monday to become a regular staff physician.
'The investigation did not reveal anything that was actionable,' UHS Director Kathy Poi said of the harassment accusations lobbied by medical students against Spear.
However, Poi said, after the investigation, there were some concerns with decision-making and staff input at UHS. UHS hired a professional to analyze the issues in July 2005.
'People worked very hard on that over the course of the summer and the fall,' Poi said, adding that as issues dissipated and evolved, Spear felt he wanted to change his role.
'He's been very honest with the staff that he is potentially looking for a position elsewhere, and felt that if he was going to do that, it would be more beneficial to the health service staff if he would step down out of the clinical director role,' Poi said.
According to a Feb. 14 Wisconsin State Journal article, though the UW System Board of Regents voted in November 2005'after the Paul Barrows scandal'to eliminate backup appointments for future career administrators recruited from outside UW-Madison, tenured faculty and staff promoted within retain state rights to return to jobs within the faculty and academic staff if they are fired or quit as administrators.
Although Spear will stay on at UHS and receive no pay decrease from his $167,724 annual salary, he will still perform several responsibilities he did before, including working with UHS quality control and in-house supervising labs, X-rays and the pharmacy.
