Richard Brunson quit his position as an associate professor at UW-Stevens Point in Marshfield in 2022 amid an investigation into his professional conduct with students.
The probe into Brunson’s conduct eventually obtained private messages sent between Brunson and several of his students.
In these messages, Brunson had repeatedly made sexual remarks about masturbation. Additionally, documents also detailed an occasion where Brunson hugged a student and “grabbed him by the back of the head/neck and pulled him in and kissed him on the lips.”
Prior to the 2022 investigation, Brunson had been disciplined in 2018 by UW-Stevens Point after he inappropriately touched a student. Following this incident he was made to undergo sexual harassment prevention training. The probe concluded that Brunson exhibited a “pattern of inappropriate sexual behavior” throughout his tenure.
After Brunson quit, he began working in the Medford Area Public School District, but was asked to resign shortly after due to UW legal counsel recommending the district to request public records “about the resignation and Board (of Regents) action if they wished.”
Brunson sued UW-Marshfield, citing that the university overstepped by reaching out to the Medford Area Public School District. This lawsuit made his public records harder to obtain, which is the main cause of controversy following his most recent firing at Goshen College in Indiana.
Goshen College hired Brunson in July 2023. The chair of Goshen’s music department had reached out to UW-Stevens Point in Marshfield regarding Brunson.
The University was unable to provide the evidence detailed in the investigation into Brunson’s inappropriate conduct due to the litigation.
In Aug. 2023, the litigation was resolved, and UW-Stevens Point provided Goshen with the case number, which detailed the sexual harassment allegations against Brunson.
In Feb., Milwaukee Journal Sentinel detailed Brunson’s resignation and subsequent litigation. Brunson was placed on leave by Goshen University and fired six days later.
Goshen Vice President Jodi Beyler was asked following Brunson’s termination why nobody had read the court documents provided to Goshen regarding Brunson’s conduct. Beyler responded to requests for comment by stating that she did not, “have an answer for you on that.”
“I would just say hindsight is 20/20,” Beyler stated. “it’s a complicated situation.”
