RICHMOND, Va. (AP) - Virginia Commonwealth University’s government school is getting a new dean after former Gov. Douglas Wilder sued the department’s previous leader, accusing him of harassment.
The Richmond Times-Dispatch reports professor Susan Gooden will fill in for John Accordino.
Accordino has said he was removed from his job last month after Wilder sued him.
VCU Provost Gail Hackett addressed Accordino’s job in an email to faculty and staff. According to the newspaper, the email said Accordino denies the allegations but agreed to step aside “in consideration of the greater mission of the school and university.”
Wilder is the government school’s namesake. His lawsuit alleges Accordino called Wilder’s assistant “obscene names” and that two officials failed to act on the results of an outside investigation.
Accordino is on a paid “study-research leave.”
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