Appeals court affirms UW-Oshkosh professor records release

By: Associated Press//June 20, 2018//

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MADISON, Wis. (AP) — A state appeals court says the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh must release records related to a misconduct investigation involving a business professor.

Alexander Nemec, a reporter at the student newspaper Advance-Titan, filed an open-records request in March 2017 for a complaint against Willis Hagen and documents from an ensuing investigation. Hagen was a business professor who had suddenly stopped teaching his classes earlier that year.

Hagen sued to block the release, saying personnel records are exempt from Wisconsin’s open-records law. A Winnebago County judge ordered the documents released.

The 2nd District Court of Appeals upheld that decision on Wednesday, saying no exemptions exist for records of closed misconduct investigations.

Hagen’s attorney, Peter Culp, didn’t immediately reply to an email Wednesday.

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