Minn. college fires dean for student contact

WINONA, Minn. (AP) -- Winona State University says it fired the dean of its College of Business in September after an investigation into alleged inappropriate contact with students.

University President Scott Olson says the investigation found that Bill Murphy held "highly personal, sexually oriented discussions" with students and asked to photograph students "in various degrees of dress."

Olson says he began an immediate investigation, and Murphy was fired in September. The school didn't announce his firing until after a grievance by the Inter Faculty Organization was settled.

Winona police investigated material on Murphy's school-issued computer but found nothing criminal.

Messages left on a home phone number listed under Murphy's name weren't immediately returned Friday. Messages with IFO officials also weren't returned.

The settlement, first reported by KAGE-AM, says Murphy wasn't given severance.

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