A College of Business professor accused of having inappropriate relationships with students and his secretary will retire at the end of June.
C. Aaron Kelley, a former dean of the college and professor of Management Systems, sent Ohio University his resignation letter April 1.
OU President Roderick McDavis initiated de-tenuring proceedings against Kelley in September, 15 years after the first allegations of the professor's inappropriate behavior surfaced.
Kelley has admitted to having a sexual relationship with Vicki Robbins, his secretary, while he was business dean. He resigned from that position in 1996 after faculty and staff expressed discomfort and concern about his actions.
He has also admitted to a relationship with a former student that began spring 2001.
Kelley has denied allegations that he had inappropriate relationships with two students in OU's Master's in Business Administration program in India. The first of those relationships is alleged to have happened in 2002, at which point the college removed Kelley from the program for several years.
The most recent accusations against Kelley arise from text messages found on a cell phone he used in India in 2007 that hint at an intimate relationship with a woman who was in his class at the time. In texts and e-mails to the woman, Kelley referred to himself as Mr. Banana and signed some of them love.
College of Business faculty and administrators were particularly concerned about the possibility that Kelley might have altered the woman's grade because of their relationship.
Kelley has denied that he adjusted her grade. His resignation comes after his department and college, along with the president, provost and a Faculty Senate committee recommended he lose tenure.
Kelley has not taught in the college since 2008.
In his retirement letter, addressed to current College of Business Dean Hugh Sherman and received April 7, Kelly does not address any accusations or McDavis' attempt to strip his tenure.
A 17-year OU employee, Kelly earns $119,002 a year.
Kelley will need to work with the State Teachers' Retirement System to coordinate retirement benefits. The Post could not confirm whether he will receive money from OU. His attorney could not be reached for comment.
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Emily Grannis
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