Chancellor who abruptly resigned scheduled to return to work in the fall
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BATON ROUGE - Despite allegations of misconduct by employees against Chancellor-Dean Bobby Phills, Southern University confirmed Monday he will return to work and will assume a tenured administrative position in the fall.
The WBRZ Investigative Unit has spoken to four employees that worked with Phills and all have similar allegations against the former dean. WBRZ has made an editorial decision not to release details of the claims until Southern University confirms them.
On Monday, Southern University again called his resignation a personnel matter and refused to answer questions about allegations of misconduct.
In an internal email obtained by the WBRZ Investigative Unit, Phills told staff at the SU Ag Center that he was dealing with some "personal and professional challenges." He also told the email recipients about his return to the university in the fall.
"With some time off this semester, God willing and with prayer, I will be able to successfully conquer these challenges," Phills wrote.
A spokesperson for Southern University said, "I can confirm that he did resign from the position of chancellor-dean of the Southern University Agricultural Research and Extension Center/College of Agriculture, effective Feb. 1. Chancellors employed within the Southern University System have contracts that warrant a tenured position upon resignation. After a leave of absence, Phills will assume an administrative tenured position at the System level this fall."
Phills told WBRZ over the phone he did nothing wrong and referred all questions to the university.