Former Sutherland Hall director Joel Duncan pled no contest Aug. 11 to misdemeanor theft from UW-Eau Claire for taking cash from students who violated alcohol policies in exchange for not officially reporting the incident.

University policy states that all fines are to be paid directly to the business office, housing director Chuck Major said.

“This is probably the first time something like this has happened in the 30 years that I’ve been around,” Major said last week.

According to court documents, sometime in April Major reported to police that he suspected Duncan of taking the fine money for his own use.

Once confronted by a police officer, the records state, Duncan said that since September 2001, on several occasions, he had taken money directly from students in violation of university code.

Duncan told the officer that he donated the money to charity but did not provide any proof of doing so. Duncan said he deposited the money in his bank account three times with the intention of donating the money to charity.

The Spectator was unable to contact Duncan for comment.

In his statement to police, Duncan said he took $2,830 from students during the 2002-03 school year.

He reportedly provided Major with $1,130 shortly after speaking to police and has since paid another $1,800 to prosecutors. He also owes the court $750 in fines.

A felony misconduct charge was dismissed.

First-time alcohol offenders used to be fined $75 and were forced to take an alcohol class, Sutherland RA Christine Dussault said.

This year the fine system has been eliminated, she said. Now violators pay a $65 fee that covers the cost of a new alcohol class, Dussault said.

Major said a student originally told him of Duncan’s improper actions.

Although surprising, the idea of something like this happening does not come as a shock to Major.

“There’s always going to be that chance,” he said. “You can’t have an air-tight system.”

Despite the theft conviction, Duncan was well respected and professional, Major said.

“My assessment was that he was a very excellent hall director,” he said.

Those were sentiments that Dussault echoed. “We were sad to see him go,” she said. “He made some mistakes.”

Duncan came to UW-Eau Claire in the fall of 1999.

Texas native Kimberly Adams has been hired as his replacement.