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Wisconsin university professor placed on leave after allegedly flipping College Republicans' table
The University of Wisconsin - Eau Claire English Department chair has been placed on administrative leave after allegedly flipping the College Republicans' table on campus Tuesday.
The chair of the English Department at the University of Wisconsin - Eau Claire has been placed on administrative leave after allegedly flipping the College Republicans' table on campus Tuesday morning.
UW-Eau Claire Interim Provost Michael Carney confirmed the incident with Fox News.
"I am deeply concerned that our students’ peaceful effort to share information on campus on election day was disrupted," Carney said in a statement. "UW-Eau Claire strongly supports every person’s right to free speech and free expression, and the university remains committed to ensuring that campus is a place where a wide variety of opinions and beliefs can be shared and celebrated."
He added that "civil dialogue is a critical part of the university experience, and peaceful engagement is fundamental to learning itself."
"We are working with the Universities of Wisconsin and the Office of General Counsel, which is conducting a comprehensive investigation of this matter. The faculty member involved has been placed on administrative leave pending that investigation," Carney said.
The UW-Eau Claire College Republicans identified the faculty member on Instagram as English Department Chair José Felipe Alvergue. Alvergue did not immediately respond to inquiries from Fox News Digital.
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Tatiana Bobrowicz, UW-Eau Claire College Republicans chair, said in a video posted to the chapter's Instagram page that she had just finished setting up a table on Election Day.
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The student group was promoting conservative-backed Wisconsin Supreme Court candidate Brad Schimel and superintendent candidate Brittany Kinser, both of whom lost their elections Tuesday.
"A professor came up and flipped our table in a violent attack towards us. This is unacceptable," Bobrowicz said in a statement posted to the UW-Eau Claire College Republicans Instagram account on Tuesday. "The university has since confirmed that this attacker was the chair of the university's English Department. Once again, this type of violent attack will not be tolerated."
UW director of media relations Mark Pitsch told Fox News in a statement that university staff "appreciate that UW-Eau Claire has taken swift action, and we will be working with them to conduct the investigation."
